Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth softball team used a walk-off homer from senior Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.) to secure game one while a combined shutout in game two from Kate McDonald (Scituate, Mass.) and Annika Evensen (Lake Forrest, Calif.) completed the sweep of Salem State to bump up the Corsairs winning-streak to 11 games.
The Basics
Score: UMass Dartmouth 4, Salem State 2 (Game One) | UMass Dartmouth 1, Salem State 0 (Game Two)
Records: UMass Dartmouth (19-5, 4-0 LEC) | Salem State (9-14, 3-1 MASCAC)
How it Happened
UMass Dartmouth 4, Salem State 2 (8 innings)
Senior Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.) took her turn as the team hero, as the second baseman lifted the team to the extra-innings victory when she laced a walk-off home run over the left field fence to extend the Corsairs streak to ten games. Freshman Kylie Fletcher and sophomore Cierra Sheerin (Bridgewater, Mass.) added two hits apiece while also driving in a run each to contribute to the final score.
In the circle, senior Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) was solid, allowing just two earned runs and striking out eight through five innings of work. Right-hander Annika Evensen (Lake Forest, Calif.) continued her spotless streak as she shutout the opposition for the fifth consecutive appearance to pick up her third win of the season.
Sheerin opened things up in the home-half of the first inning as she ripped a double down the left field line to plate Colton from second base. In the bottom of the fourth, Fletcher built upon her recent tear at the plate as the newcomer launched her fourth big fly of the season to up the score for the host, 2-0.
But Salem State battled back in the top of the fifth, snapping Smith out of her groove as the Vikings offense produced four hits in the frame. With two outs, Adams (Burlington, Mass.) plated the visitors first run of the game with a single through the middle. Two batters later, Adams came around when Jen Crovo (Melrose, Mass.) followed her teammate with an RBI single through the center of the field to knot the score at two.
With the international tiebreaker in place, Salem State placed the go-ahead run at second base to begin the top of the eighth. After a sacrifice moved the runner over the third base, Corsairs relief pitcher Evensen punched out the second hitter of the inning before forcing the final hitter of the frame to ground out. In the bottom of the eighth, the Corsairs placed the possible winning run at second base, but Colton opted out of the sacrifice bunt. Instead, the senior jumped all over the opposing pitchers offering, lifting the ball over the left field fence for the team's first walk-off victory of the year.
UMass Dartmouth 1, Salem State 0
McDonald found herself in a pitcher's duel in her first start of the season but was able to hold her own despite only four hits from the Corsair offense. The right-hander held firm through five shutout innings, scattering six hits and striking out three. At the plate, Maddie O'Gryzek (Norfolk, Mass.), Kerry Farrell (New City, N.Y.), Fletcher, and Colton each contributed a hit for the team.
UMass Dartmouth pushed across the first and only run of the game in the bottom of the first inning. With a runner at second base, a costly throwing error from the Vikings pitcher allowed O'Gryzek the chance to scamper in from second base after getting the inning started with a lead-off single.
Salem State threatened in the top of the second and fourth innings as it put runners on second and third base during each frame. But to no avail, as McDonald settled in on both occasions to escape the jams. In the final two frames, Evensen came in for relief, and after surrendering a knock the first hitter she faced, the sophomore retired the next six hitters to seal the 1-0 decision.
Inside the Numbers
- The team's 11-game winning streak is the longest for the program since 2001, with the previous high coming from March 12-17, 2016 when it put together nine straight victories.
- Over the last 15 games, the Blue and Gold have a record of 14-1, as the team has yet to drop a contest since returning from their Florida trip.
- During game two, the Corsairs picked up their first win of the 2018 campaign when being outhit by their opponent.
- Colton's game one walk-off homer marks the first such instance in her career. It was only her second career homer after hitting one on April 10, 2010.
- Evensen surpassed her previous season-longest scoreless streak, now shutting out opponents in ten consecutive innings in the circle. Her career-long is 10.2 innings.
- With multi-hit games in the first contest, Fletcher and Sheerin recorded their eighth and seventh such performances this season.
Up Next
The Corsairs jump back into Little East Conference play on Saturday when Plymouth State comes to campus for a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. Salem State travels to Westfield State on the same day for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
