PROVIDENCE, R.I. -Â 5th-year senior
Jill Richards threw her first-career no-hitter to shut down one of the best offenses in the nation, leading the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth softball team to a 2-0 game one win. Johnson & Wales then took game two, 11-8.
The Corsairs are now 9-2 on the season, while the Wildcats were handed their first loss of the year and are now 7-1.
GAME ONE
Richards was spectacular in the circle during her no-hit performance as the Corsairs won, 2-0. She struck out five over seven innings and walked just two batters. Richards allowed her defense to work behind her, as she forced 11 flyouts and five groundouts.
Both runs for UMass Dartmouth came in the first inning. Freshman
Kinu Takasugi led the game off with a base hit, stole second, and was moved to third. Senior
Lindsay Chubbuck stepped up to the plate and blasted her first home run of the season over the left field fence to make it a 2-0 lead.
Richards kept it at that score. She only allowed four runners on base and worked a perfect inning in the third, fourth and fifth to secure the no-hitter.
GAME TWO
Johnson & Wales' high-powered bats came to life in game two as the Wildcats won, 11-8, in a high-scoring game.
Senior
Averi Soares had a great day at the plate, she went 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and two runs scored. Freshman Mackenzie Clee led the Wildcats with a 3-for-4 day and four RBI.
Each team scored four times in the second. UMass Dartmouth had first ups and Richards stole home after leading the inning off with a double. Freshman
Larissa Piessens drove in Soares with a double, junior
Victoria Rossetti hit a sacrifice fly to score a run, and Takasugi singled in Piessens to make it a 4-0 lead. the Wildcats quickly tied the score on back-to-back two-RBI singles.
A solo home run, a run crossing the plate on a passed ball, and a two-RBI single gave Johnson & Wales an 8-4 advantage after three innings.
The Wildcats tacked on two more in the fourth on another two-RBI base hit to extend their lead to 10-4.
Soares launched her first home run of the year, a three-run shot, to cut the deficit to 10-7 in the fifth. But a solo homer by the Wildcats in the bottom of the inning made it 11-7.
Soares drove in 5th-year senior
Leah Major in the seventh, but it was not enough as Johnson & Wales hung on for the win.
UP NEXT
The Corsairs are at Bridgewater State for a doubleheader on Tuesday, Game one begins at 3 p.m. and game two is scheduled for 5 p.m.
