GORHAM, Maine- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Corsairs opened up the first round of the Little East Conference Championship Tournament today in the Gorham, Maine Pod, hosted by the University of Southern Maine. The Corsairs went 1-1 against Castleton University to advance to game four of the tournament.
GAME 1 |Castleton 4, UMassD 0
The game remained scoreless through two innings. The Spartans found the scoreboard on back-to-back solo homeruns in the top of the third, jumping out to a 2-0 lead. The visiting side tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning to secure the 4-0 score line.
Junior
Anna Kerwood (Florence, Mass.) allowed six hits and struck out four in her complete-game outing. Sophomore Olivia Joy (Greenfield, Mass.) went the distance for the Spartans, earning her sixth win of the season.
Castleton moved on to face the host, #1 University of Southern Maine, in game two of the double-elimination bracket. The Spartans fell 4-1 to the Huskies, leaving them to face off against the Corsairs once more to determine who would advance to game four of the tournament.
GAME 2 | UMassD 4, Castleton 2
The Spartans struck first, as junior Jamie Boyle (Pownal, V.T.)Â hit her second homerun of the day in the top of the first inning. The Corsairs countered as senior
Jill Richards (Kingston, Mass.) sent a solo shot to left field in the bottom of the fourth for her first homerun of the season. The Kingston native leads the team with a .357 batting average
Castleton regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from freshman Allie Almond (Proctor, V.T.), but it wouldn't last long.
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Senior
Kylie Fletcher (Dighton, Mass.) sent a three-run blast to right center to give the Corsairs a 4-2 lead. This was the first time UMassD homered twice in one game since a matchup against Rhode Island College on April 6, 2019. The homeruns that day were also hit by Richards and Fletcher.
Castleton pitcher Olivia Joy entered this outing having limited the Corsairs to one run over 17.2 innings in the last three outings. The freshman hurler allowed two earned runs on five hits in her five-inning outing. Richards remained hot from the circle, earning her seventh straight win as she struck out five Spartans as she went the distance.
UMassD will return to Gorham Thursday as they face the Southern Maine at 2 PM. The Corsairs will need to beat the Huskies twice to clinch a spot in the Little East Conference Championship. Catch all the action at littleeast.tv.
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