WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Behind a dominant pitching performance from
Jill Richards and a rally in the fourth inning, the UMass Dartmouth softball team defeated Otterbein University, 4-0 on Tuesday at DiamondPlex Field. The Corsairs move to 4-2 on the season, while the Cardinals slip to 1-5 overall.
It was a close contest through the opening three innings as the Corsairs owned a narrow 1-0 lead. After holding the Cardinals to just two hits in the top of the fourth, UMD broke out in their half of the inning with a three run, four hit effort.
A single through the left side by graduate student
Jill Richards got things going, as she later advanced to second on a ground out from junior first baseman
Hailey Lyons. Sophomore second baseman
Larissa Piessens singled up the middle on the next at-bat, advancing to second on the throw as Richards crossed the plate for a run.
Senior outfielder
Victoria Rossetti followed with an RBI single of her own, while sophomore outfielder
Kinu Takasugi stepped up and delivered a single to second, driving in Rossetti to make it a 4-0 lead for the Corsairs.
Dominant pitching paved the way to victory for UMass Dartmouth as Richards held the Cardinals to just one hit over the final three innings of play. Otterbein threatened in to top of the seventh as rookie infielder Jen Sindledecker doubled down the left field line, but Richards held solid, striking out two of the next three batters to close it out.
Richards was outstanding for UMD, going the distance over 7.0 innings with just four hits surrendered. In addition to 10 strikeouts, she walked just four batters. Major led the way offensively, going a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a run batted in. Piessens had a hit, an RBI and a run scored, while Takasugi also had a perfect round at-bat with a 2-for-2 effort, adding a run scored and an RBI.
Otterbein saw Sindledecker go 2-for-3 at the plate, while junior catcher Caroline Heller was 1-for-3. In the circle, sophomore Bryn Grabowski shouldered the loss, allowing one run on four hits over 3.0 innings. She struck out six during her outing.
The Corsairs are off on Wednesday, returning to action Thursday at 9am as UMD faces Simmons University in Jan Phyl Village, Fla. Game two at 2pm will see the Corsairs take on Nebraska Wesleyan.
