CLERMONT, Fla. – In day two of THE Spring Games in Clermont, Florida, the UMass Dartmouth softball team won both ends of a back-to-back against Nichols College (15-7 final) and Arcadia University (5-2 final). The Corsairs improve to 2-2 in the early stages of their 2024 campaign, while the Bison began their season 0-1 and the Knights slid to 2-2 overall.
Senior hurler
Kaitlyn Shirshac was outstanding, collecting her first two wins back-to-back. Coming in as a reliever in the first game against Nichols, Shirshac allowed three runs on two hits with two strikeouts, earning her first win of the 2024 season. Then in her start against Arcadia, she went all seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits with four strikeouts.
In a high-scoring contest with Nichols, UMass Dartmouth was leading 9-7 through four and a half innings. In the bottom of the fifth, junior shortstop
Larissa Piessens got on base to get things going with a one-out walk. After stealing second base, Piessens advanced to third on a sac bunt by junior
Kinu Takasugi. Piessens was knocked home on a single from sophomore
Emma Talpey. Talpey stole both second and third before scoring on a base hit from senior catcher
Dyonna Rodas, giving the Corsairs an 11-7 lead with two outs in the fifth.
The Corsairs were not done yet, as Rodas scored on a long single off the bat of senior first baseman
Hailey Lyons. The Corsairs were able to load the bases with two outs, before two more runs came in on a pair of wild pitches. The last at bat of the game saw an error lead to the Corsairs' 15
th run being scored, ending the game early with the 8-run rule.
Game two was a very different game, as the starting pitchers on both sides had great outings. With the contest even at 2-2 through six innings, the Corsairs took control in the top of the seventh. Piessens was the first on base after being walked, before Takasugi reached first on her second bunt-single of the day. Talpey was walked, loading the bases for Rodas, who crushed a double of the left field wall, scoring one before a great play by the Knights caught Takasugi at the plate.
Lyons brought in Talpey on a ground-out to the shortstop, setting up sophomore third baseman
RaeLynn Perregaux for a two-out double in the gap in right-centerfield. Rodas scored on the play, putting the Corsairs on top 5-2. Shirshac retired the side in 1-2-3 fashion in the bottom of the seventh to give UMass Dartmouth their second win of the day.
The Corsairs are back at it on Tuesday with another back-to-back against McDaniel College at 2:30pm and Lasell University at 5:00pm. Both contests will be played at the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex in Leesburg, Florida.
