Box Score KEENE, N.H. – Western Connecticut put together a four-run bottom of the seventh to turn the tides on UMass Dartmouth Friday afternoon, walking off with a 6-5 win over the Corsairs in the second round of the Little East Conference Tournament at Keene State.
The fourth-seeded Colonials (21-17 overall) stay unbeaten on the championship with the win, while the No. 2 seed Corsairs (27-14 overall) now face an elimination game against No. 5 seed UMass Boston on Saturday.
UMass Dartmouth senior Shannon Orton (Swansea, Mass.) tossed a no-hitter through six innings, allowing her squad to put together a sixth-inning rally to take the lead before the Colonials found the bats in the seventh. Freshman Jill Miller (Freetown, Mass.) put together a huge day at the dish, going 3-for-4 with a double, with senior Rachel Carey (Holbrook, Mass.) driving in the Corsairs' lone RBI.
WCSU couldn't lace a hit in the first, but nevertheless took an early lead. The bases loaded right away due to an error and a walk, and senior Michaela Roche (Bristol, Conn.) took advantage, lifting a sacrifice fly deep enough to plate two runs.
Beginning in the second frame, Orton sat the next the next 15 Colonial batters including three-straight swinging strikeouts in the third while the offense slowly chipped away. With two outs in the third, freshman Maddie O'Gryzek (Norfolk, Mass.) reached base on an error, trucking around the bases on Emily Colton's (Kingston, Mass.) at-bat and scoring when the Colonials committed a throwing error.
The Corsairs threatened again in the fourth, but were able to finally close the gap in the sixth. Miller led off with a double, and her pinch runner, freshman Rachelle Bator (Farmington, Maine) advanced to third on a well-placed sacrifice bunt from junior Marissa Spinuzzi (Fair Lawn, N.J.). In the next four at-bats, UMass Dartmouth would capitalize on several WCSU miscues and Carey's RBI single to plate four runs and claim a three-run lead.
The Colonials then switched the fortunes in just enough time. With the bases loaded due to two singles and a fielding error, senior Maegan Rodriguez (East Haven, Conn.) sent a double to center field, driving in two runs to put WCSU down just one run. A Candace Lawrence (West Haven, Conn.) sacrifice bunt drove in the tying score in the next at-bat, and junior Alex LaFemina (East Haddam, Conn.) then did the honors with a runner on third, singling through the left side to steal back the victory.
Orton fanned five on the game, walking just two as all six of WCSU's runs were unearned. The Colonials split time between seniors Alle Sabith (Meriden, Conn.) and Emily Cintorino (Bristol, Conn.), combining for five strikeouts, one walk and no earned runs. Sabith was credited with the win.
The Corsairs and the Beacons meet at noon tomorrow for the second time in four days, as UMass Dartmouth previously collected a 6-5 walk-off win against its in-state rival in the opening round on Wednesday. Western Connecticut earns a date with top-seeded Keene State, also unbeaten, at 10 a.m.
