KEENE, N.H. – Powered by an 8-for-8 effort at the plate by senior third baseman
RaeLynn Perregaux, the UMass Dartmouth softball team swept Keene State College in Little East Conference doubleheader action on Tuesday. The Corsairs posted wins of 12-2 and 10-1 – both in five innings – to improve to 20-8 overall and 7-3 in conference play.
Game one saw the Corsairs and Owls locked in a 2-2 tie until the fifth inning as UMass Dartmouth broke open the game in dominant fashion. Senior third baseman
RaeLynn Perregaux belted a two-run homer down the left field line to open a 4-2 lead for UMass Dartmouth. Junior left fielder
Olivia Ali then reaching on a fielding error, followed by a double from junior catcher
Olivia Silva and a walk to rookie first baseman
Bre Fontes – setting the stage for senior
Lena Tsonis with bases loaded and no outs.
The designated player delivered, sending a double to left to bring in two runs, expanding the lead to 6-2. Senior centerfielder
Sydney Menz followed, grounding as a run came across, while classmate and second baseman
Emma Talpey followed with another ground out for the 8-2 lead.
UMD got back-to-back singles from junior right fielder
Lily Routhier and rookie shortstop
Chloe Edwards, setting things up once again for Perregaux as she blasted her second home run of the inning to left for an 11-2 advantage. The Corsairs added a final run as Ali – who had walked – advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error.
Sophomore
Edy Crawford came on to pitch in the bottom of the fifth, forcing a pop-up and back-to-back strikeouts to conclude the game.
Perregaux went 4-for-4 at the plate with three runs scored and six runs batted in, recording a double and two home runs in the fifth inning. Tsonis was 1-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, while Ali was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Edwards went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, while Routhier was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
In the circle, rookie starter
Brielle Kenney went 4.0 innings to earn the win, allowing two runs on four hits with a strikeout. Crawford pitched the final inning, striking out two batters.
Game two action opened with the Corsairs bats still hot as Perregaux led off the top of the first with a single through the left side. With one out on the board, Silva reached on an error for runners at the corners as Fontes then singled down the left field line to bring in Perregaux.
Holding the 1-0 lead, Tsonis was walked, followed by a two-run single up the middle by Routhier to push the margin to 3-0. The Corsairs faced a two-out situation but capitalized with bases loaded as Edwards was walked to bring in a run, followed by a two-run double down the left field line from Perregaux to make it a 6-0 advantage.
Into the fifth inning, the Corsairs struck once again with two runners on as senior centerfielder
Sydney Menz grounded out to bring in a run. Edwards followed with an RBI single to center, followed by a double from Perregaux to push the score to 9-0. Ali then singled up the middle, making it a 10-0 lead heading into the bottom of the frame.
The Owls worked to answer as a single to center from Cainen Avery, was coupled with a double to left from Anna Gostkowski to put runners in scoring position with no outs on the board. Keene State got a sacrifice fly from Kalle Halvorsen to bring in a run, but Crawford shut down the Owls, forcing a pair of grounders to end the game.
Perregaux went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI, hitting a pair of doubles. Routhier was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and two runs batted in, while Edwards was 1-for-2 with a run scored and two RBI. Tsonis posted a 2-for-2 effort with a run scored, while Fontes was 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
In the circle, Crawford earned the win, allowing just one run on three hits over 5.0 innings pitched. She struck out three batters in the contest. On the day, Perregaux recorded five runs scored and nine runs batted in, hitting three doubles and two homeruns for the Corsairs.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Wednesday, hosting Roger Williams for a single, non-conference game beginning at 3pm.
