NEW LONDON, Conn. – Powered by a two great showings from senior hurlers
Kaitlyn Shirshac and
Rahne Turley, the UMass Dartmouth softball team completed the sweep over the United States Coast Guard Academy with an 8-2 win in game one followed by a 3-1 win in game two. The Corsairs have now won 12 of their last 14 outings, improving to 22-8 overall, while the Bears slide to 9-17 on the season.
Game one saw the scoring come early, as UMass Dartmouth led 3-2 after the first inning of play. Shirshac was outstanding, allowing two runs (none earned) on just three hits with five strikeout in a complete game's work. After the first inning, Shirshac halted the Bears' to no runs the rest of the way.
UMass Dartmouth built onto their lead thanks to a three-run fourth inning. The inning began with a leadoff walk from junior shortstop
Larissa Piessens who then stole second. Senior catcher
Dyonna Rodas was walked, and after some crafty baserunning was able to force a throw to allow Piessens to score from third while Rodas reached second safely. Sophomore second baseman
Emma Talpey hit a base hit to put two runners in scoring position, setting up senior first baseman
Hailey Lyons for the RBI. Talpey was able to score on an RBI single off the bat of sophomore third baseman
RaeLynn Perregaux, giving the Corsairs a 7-2 advantage throughfour innings.
UMD brought in one more run in the sixth inning, when Perregaux scored on a wild pitch. The Corsairs led 8-2 and played solid defense to prevent any comeback from the Bears, taking game one by a six-run margin.
UMassD saw Perregaux go a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate with two RBI's and two runs scored. Lyons went 1-for-3 and drove in three RBI's.
The Bears saw senior first baseman Isabelle Shroyer lead the way from the plate, going 2-for-3 and scoring a run. Sophomore hurler Emma Behel shouldered the game one loss, allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits in 4.0 innings of work.
Game two saw a low-scoring contest, with all of the game's runs coming in the first two innings. The Corsairs jumped ahead early with two runs in the top of the first. Freshman left fielder
Olivia Ali got things going with a one-out single. Then with two outs and runners on second and third, Perregaux continued her fantastic day with a two-RBI base hit to left field.
In the top of the second, with two outs, junior right fielder
Kinu Takasugi got on base and proceeded to steal second. Takasugi scored from second on a fielding error the next play to put UMD up 3-0. The Bears cut into the deficit in the bottom half of the inning when a fielding error allowed senior catcher Lillia Farlow to score after her leadoff double.
With a 3-1 lead after two innings, it was Turley and the Corsairs defense who were dominant the rest of the way, not allowing another run as they went on to win game two by a score of 3-1.
Turley was fantastic, allowing one run (unearned) on just four hits with a strikeout and only one walk. Shirshac entered the game in the seventh inning and secured her third save of the season by retiring three straight Bears batters.
From the plate, UMass Dartmouth was led by Perregaux once again, going 2-for-3 with two RBI's. Takasugi and Ali each recorded a base hit and scored a run.
Sophomore hurler Dana Walker shouldered the loss for Coast Guard. She allowed three runs (none earned) on five hits with three strikeouts. Four different batters recorded a hit for the Bears, with Farlow scoring their only run.
UMass Dartmouth softball is back at it on Saturday, hosting Southern Maine for a Little East Conference twin bill. The series will take place on Senior Day for the Corsairs, who will honor their graduating seniors prior to the 3:00pm first pitch.
