LEESBURG, Fla. – In two tightly contested contests in their third day of THE Spring Games, the UMass Dartmouth softball team dropped both ends of a back-to-back by one run each; slipping 4-3 to McDaniel College before losing 2-1 to Lasell University on a walk-off hit in the seventh inning. The Corsairs slide to 2-4 overall, while the Green Terror improved to 4-1 and the Lasers took their first win of the season to get to 1-3 overall.
In the nightcap against Lasell, junior hurler
Rahne Turley had a great performance from the thrower's circle, pitching the complete game while allowing just one earned run of two total on nine hits with three strikeouts.
UMass Dartmouth struck first in the third inning, starting with a leadoff single from junior outfielder
Jill Walsh. Walsh stole second on a wild pitch before advancing to third on a ground out. Junior outfielder
Kinu Takasugi brought in Walsh on a perfectly placed bunt, as Walsh slid in for the first run of the game.
After the Lasers evened the contest at 1-1 in the fifth inning, the Corsairs found themselves in striking distance in the top of the seventh. Sophomore third baseman
RaeLynn Perregaux singled to center with one out, before stealing both second and third base. Lasers freshman pitcher Shyanne Raccio, who originally started but was pulled early in the first inning, came back in as a reliever in the seventh and was able to get out of trouble without the Corsairs bringing in a run.
In the bottom of the inning, Lasell senior outfielder Ally Kirk reached on a fielder's choice and stole second base. Kirk was knocked in on a walk-off single from Lasers' sophomore utility and pitcher Abigail Fortin, as Lasell took the 2-1 victory.
In the early game for the Corsairs, it was McDaniel College who started things off with a two-run second inning. UMass Dartmouth tied the contest up in the third, with freshman
Hailey Soares getting things going with a leadoff single. After getting to second on a groundout, Soares advanced to third on a single up the middle from senior shortstop
Larissa Piessens. Takasugi brought in the Corsairs' first run on a ground-out to second base, advancing Piessens to third. Piessens came in on a rocket down the left field line off the bat of sophomore
Emma Talpey, to even the score at 2-2 through three innings.
McDaniel retook the lead in the fifth, when a single to center and an error in the outfield led to two runs coming in. UMD threatened in the seventh, bringing it within one as Takasugi scored on a single struck by senior catcher
Dyonna Rodas. But the Green Terror escaped, 4-3.
Senior hurler
Kaitlyn Shirshac pitched her third complete game of the season, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts.
UMass Dartmouth Softball has a day off on Tuesday, before another back-to-back on Wednesday, March 12. The Corsairs will face Rutgers-Newark at 10:15am, followed by a 12:15pm meeting with Kean University.
