DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by several strong innings of offense, the UMass Dartmouth softball team posted a 7-4 victory over UMass Boston in game one before taking a 4-0 victory in game two of Little East doubleheader action on Sunday afternoon. The wins move the Corsairs to 18-8 overall and 6-2 in the conference standings, while the Beacons slip to 20-8 and 6-4 in the LEC.
The visitors opened the game's scoring in the top of the first as sophomore third baseman Lauren Miner capitalized with two runners on, singling down the left field line to drive home senior second baseman Haley Tilberry for the 1-0 advantage.
UMass Dartmouth rebounded in the bottom half of the frame, as with runners on, the Corsairs pulled off the double steal as senior catcher
Dyonna Rodas stole home, while junior second baseman
Emma Talpey took third to tie the game. Later in the frame, rookie designated player
Liv Matos with bases loaded, chopping a single up the middle to bring home Talpey for the 2-1 advantage.
The Corsairs struck once again in the bottom of the second as senior
Hailey Lyons walked in a bases loaded situation to bring junior shortstop
Larissa Piessens in from third for the 3-1 lead. Sophomore third baseman
RaeLynn Perregaux then reached on a fielder's choice, which allowed junior right fielder
Kinu Takasugi to score for the 4-1 margin after two.
UMass Boston battled back in the top of the third when with a runner on, senior pitcher Bri Melchionda reached first on a error, which allowed Tilberry to score from second.
The score remained 4-2 until the bottom of the fifth as the homestanding Corsairs pushed three runs across the plate. With bases loaded once again, rookie designated player
Olivia Silva grounded out to short, allowed Perregaux to score from third. Later on, sophomore center fielder
Sydney Menz scored on a passed ball and Matos came in to score soon after as Piessens reached first on an error.
The Beacons grabbed a run back in the bottom of the sixth as an RBI single to right center from sophomore center fielder Sofie Richland made it a 7-3 game, while the visitors plated another run in the bottom of the seventh, but the Corsairs got a pair of critical outs to end the threat.
Talpey and Rodas each finished 2-for-4 in the game with a run scored. Lyons had an RBI and two walks, as Matos finished 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI. Piessens had two of the squad's five stolen bases in the game. In the circle, senior hurler
Kaitlyn Shirshac went the distance, allowing four runs (3 earned) on 10 hits. She walked six while striking out seven batters.
For the Beacons, Richlan was 2-for-5 with an RBI, while junior outfielder Amauri English and rookie first baseman Hayley Krockta were each 2-for-4 in the game. In the circle, Melchionda shouldered the loss, allowing seven runs (5 earned) on six hits over 5.0 innings. She walked seven and struck out five. Junior Alexis Fleischer pitched in relief, allowing no runs and one hit over 1.0 innings.
Game two started much different than the first, with no runs coming in throughout the first three innings of play. In the bottom of the fourth inning with the game still scoreless, Talpey got things going with a lead-off walk. Lyons was then struck by a pitch, before a wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position. The first run of the game came in on a Perregaux groundout that scored Talpey. The second runner was able to score on a long fly ball of the bat of Menz that was mishandled by the right fielder. The Corsairs led 2-0 after 4.0 innings of play.
UMass Dartmouth added to their lead in the sixth inning, with Perregaux starting things by reaching on an infield error. Back-to-back base hits from Menz and Matos each brought in runs thnks to a couple of fielding errors by the Beacons. Going into the seventh inning, the Corsairs led 4-0. The UMassD defense held strong, getting out of the inning with a runner stranded on third, as UMass Dartmouth claimed the 4-0 victory to finish the series sweep.
For the Corsairs, senior hurler
Rahne Turley (6-2) picked up her sixth win of the season after another sensational outing. In a complete game's work, Turley allowed no runs on seven hits. From the plate, UMD was led by Matos, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Menz and Lyons each recorded hits, along with freshman DP
Olivia Ali.
For UMass Boston, grad student pitcher Jackie Cherry (8-2) shouldered just her second loss of the season. She allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits with six strikeouts. From the plate, the Beacons were led by Melchionda and Tilberry, who recorded a pair of hits each.
The Corsairs are back at it on Tuesday, traveling to Rhode Island College for a Little East Conference twin bill to decide the top spot in the conference. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00pm in Providence.
