April 16, 2012
Softball Swept In Doubleheader With Salve Regina
NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's softball team was swept in a non-conference doubleheader with visiting Salve Regina at the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Complex Monday. The Seahawks won the first game, 5-4 in eight innings, and then took the nightcap, 3-2.
Salve Regina took a lead in the top of the first inning of the opener. With the bases loaded, UMD freshman pitcher
Becky Williams (Hope Valley, RI/Chariho HS) threw a wild pitch, allowing SRU sophomore second baseman Jennifer Edine (Warwick, RI/La Salle Academy) to score. UMD answered back with four runs in the bottom of the first. The first three batters reached base for the Corsairs, then senior designated hitter
Kaitlin Hogan (Tewksbury, MA/Shawsheen HS) singled to left field, advanced to second and third on an error by SRU junior left fielder Zeena Barbarita (Johnston, RI/La Salle Academy), then scored on a throwing error by Barbarita, giving the Corsairs a 4-1 lead after the first inning. SRU junior pitcher Jen Cruver (North Haven, CT/North Haven HS) helped her cause with an RBI double in the second inning, cutting the Seahawks deficit to 4-2. Salve Regina continued their rally in the third inning with an RBI double from senior third baseman Kristen Parolise (Hamden, CT/Sacred Heart Academy), making the score 4-3.
In the fifth inning, with the bases loaded, Parolise groundout out to shortstop but junior shortstop Ali Muehlbronner (Glenside, PA/Abington HS) scored on the play, tying the game at 4-4. The game remained tied after seven innings, forcing extra innings. With a runner on second, Cruver delivered an RBI single to left field, scoring senior infielder Nikki Hirschbeck (Trumbull, CT/St. Joseph's HS), giving Salve Regina a 5-4 lead. The Corsairs had a runner reach third base but failed to score in the bottom of the eighth, leading to the 5-4 victory for Salve Regina. Cruver (16-12) pitched a complete game for Salve Regina, allowing four runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts. Williams threw the first three innings for UMD, allowing three runs on four hits. Freshman pitcher
Olivia Kenyon (0-3) went the final five innings, surrendering two runs on six hits.
In the second game, Hogan delivered in the first inning with an RBI single, scoring sophomore shortstop
Emily Pontes (Tewksbury, MA/Essex Agricultural Tech HS), then came around to score on an RBI single by Williams, staking the Corsairs to an early 2-0 lead. Parolise doubled in the third inning, then scored on a sacrifice fly from freshman catcher Laura Anne Dinan (Monterey, MA/Monument Mountain HS), cutting the Corsairs' lead to 2-1.
The Seahawks took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth on a two-run home run to deep left field by junior first baseman Jillian Quintana (Denver, CO/Littleton HS). UMass Dartmouth had a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh but couldn't bring her home, resulting in the 3-2 loss for the Corsairs. Kenyon threw the first four innings for UMD, giving up one run on three hits. Senior pitcher Brittany Eldridge (7-6, Raynham, MA/Bridgewater-Raynham HS) went the final four innings, allowing two unearned runs on four hits with three strikeouts. Cruver threw her second complete game of the day, giving up two runs on six hits with three strikeouts.
UMass Dartmouth is now 8-18, while Salve Regina is 16-12. The Corsairs will return to action when they host Eastern Connecticut State in a Little East Conference doubleheader Wednesday. SRU will visit Gordon Saturday.
UMASS DARTMOUTH SOFTBALL
