PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Behind a solid offensive effort and outstanding pitching, the UMass Dartmouth softball team posted a doubleheader sweep over Plymouth State in Little East Conference action on Saturday, With victories of 6-1 and 5-0, the Corsairs move to 25-10 and 12-4 in the LEC, while the Panthers slip to 13-21 and 4-12 in conference action.
With the sweep and a loss by Southern Maine, UMD has secured the second-seed in the upcoming Little East Tournament. The Corsairs will earn the first round bye and be in action on Thursday at 3pm against the winner of Wednesday's game between third-seed Southern Maine and sixth-seeded UMass Boston. Eastern Connecticut State secured the top-seed in this year's event and will host all games.
After a scoreless opening inning, the Corsairs got things going in the top of the second as third baseman
RaeLynn Perregaux and second baseman
Larissa Piessens were both hit by a pitch in back-to-back at-bats. The Panthers pitchers got two UMD batters to sit down, putting two outs on the board, but could not hold off right fielder
Sydney Menz as she singled up the middle to bring in both runners for a 2-0 lead.
In the third inning, the Corsairs faced one out on the board as designated player
Dyonna Rodas sent a single out to center field. Corsairs hurler
Jill Richards stepped up to the plate, firing a single into right field as both she and Rodas advanced on a throwing error. That error allowed Rodas to turn the corner and score for the 3-0 margin.
Fourth inning action saw UMD bring another across as Menz opened with a single to the pitcher, stealing second soon after. With an out on the board, a ground out by shortstop
Leah Major advanced Menz to third and a single by Rodas brought the run home for the 4-0 lead.
Bottom of the fourth saw the Panthers finally solve Richards as a walk to shortstop Emily Bessette led to a double to left center by the left fielder Abbey Nezuch as the PSU runner came all the way around, cutting the deficit to 4-1 with the one-out double. Richards answered with a strikeout before forcing a ground out to short to end the inning.
The Corsairs continued to roll in the top of the fifth with a lead-off single up the middle by Perregaux. She went on to steal second before
Kelsey Wink came on to pinch run. A knock to right center by Piessens put two on and with an out on the board, catcher
Lindsay Chubbuck reached on a fielder's choice as Wink was tagged out at home. The Panthers closed the run down as Menz grounded to short for the final out of the frame.
In the sixth, UMD added once again as a one-out walk to Major saw Rodas single to advance the shortstop. A botched throw to third saw Major head home. Richards answered on the next at-bat, singling to bring home another run for the 6-1 advantage.
The Corsairs got a 1-2-3 effort from Richards in the bottom of the seventh, including two strikeouts, as UMD posted the game one victory.
Richards was fantastic for UMD, going 7.0 innings with just one run and one hit allowed. She struck out six batters and walked just three in the win. Menz went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI, while Rodas was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Perregaux went 2-for-2 with a run scored.
In game two, the Corsairs once again struck first in the top of the second as Perregaux singled down the left field line. Piessens singles to left and a bunt single by first baseman
Hailey Lyons saw bases loaded with no outs on the board. Chubbuck then reached on a fielder's choice as Perregaux scored. Menz followed with a single to center to bring home a run and the Panthers were able to shut down the visitors to hold UMD to two runs.
One out on the board in the third saw UMD score once again as Piessens doubled, which allowed Perregaux to come home. The Corsairs grabbed another run in the fourth as Major singled to drive home
Kinu Takasugi, while Piessens laid down a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth to bring across the fifth run for UMD.
It was a quite affair in the final inning as junior hurler
Kaitlyn Shirshac wrapped up her outstanding day with a complete game shutout – her 11th of the season. The hurler allowed no runs and just two hits with five strikeouts. Piessens went 2-for-2 with a run scored and two RBI.
The Corsairs close out the regular season on Sunday, traveling to Brandeis for a doubleheader against the Judges. Action gets underway at 12pm and 2pm.
