2013 SOFTBALL SEASON IN REVIEW

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College Softball team wrapped up its 2013 campaign with an overall record of 14-26, doubling its win total from a year ago. Under first-year head coach Robert Spofford, the Saints improved in every single offensive category including an increase in team average by 75 percentage points, 99 additional hits, 80 more runs scored as well as 80 more RBI. The Saints swiped a program record 97 stolen bases to lead the Great Northeast Athletic Conference while ranking second in New England and 11^th overall in the national among Division III programs averaging 2.43 steals per game.

The squad opened the year with a 10-game trip down to Myrtle Beach, S.C., competing in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic. It didn't take long for Spofford to notch his first collegiate coaching victory with a 10-5 win over Wesley College on Day one of the trip. On March 13, the Saints posted a pair of victories down South with victories over Keystone College (11-4) and their first shutout of the year, a 4-0 win over Hilbert College in which senior pitcher Kelly Lloid (Issaquah, Wash.) tossed six scoreless innings of four-hit ball to earn the win, striking out seven.

Upon returning to Boston, Emmanuel opened up GNAC play with a pair of conference splits against Anna Maria College and Rivier University. The Saints pounded 11 hits in a 7-3 victory over the AMCats on March 24 led by a three-hit outing by junior third baseman Kayla Howard (Belmont, N.H.). Two days later against the Raiders it was sophomore first baseman Alex Bressette (North Easton, Mass.) who collected the three hits to propel Emmanuel to the 5-2 win.

Emmanuel closed out the month of March on a high note, picking up their first doubleheader sweep of the year with 9-0 and 14-1 wins over Pine Manor College. Freshman shortstop Catherine Davis (Wethersfield, Conn.) went 6-10 on the day, scoring and driving in three runs.

The first week of April proved to be a tough stretch for the Saints as they saw four of the top GNAC squads in Norwich, Simmons, Saint Joseph's (ME) and Saint Joseph (CT). Emmanuel came out of the stretch going 1-7, notching a 5-4 victory over Simmons on April 5 behind a 2-3 outings for freshman second baseman Kerianne Vulpis (East Rockaway, N.Y.).

Following the GNAC gauntlet, the Saints took out some frustration on Massachusetts Maritime Academy with a doubleheader sweep on April 9, collecting 17-0 and 16-2 wins. The Saints combined for 26 hits in the two victories including five apiece from Vulpis and freshman centerfield Marianne Halas (Lynn, Mass.).

The Saints made it three in a row with a 6-3 victory over Mount Ida College on April 13 as rookie left fielder Jenna Marcello (Hopedale, Mass.) went 4-4 with two RBI in the victory. The following afternoon, EC split with Lasell College, collecting a 5-4 win in the second game as Davis went 2-3 with a pair of runs and junior designated player Jennifer Garrity (Lynn, Mass) was 2-3 with two RBI.

On April 17, Emmanuel posted another twinbill sweep, getting some revenge over an early season loss to Wentworth. Game one featured a 10-2 shortened victory as Vulpis went 3-3 with two RBI while junior catcher Julia Levins (Uxbridge, Mass.) paced the Saints in a 5-3 win in game two, going 2-3 with a run scored. Freshman hurler Val Kiers (West Warwick, R.I.) earned her seventh win of the year for EC.

Heading into the final weekend of GNAC action, the Saints still had a shot at qualifying for the conference tournament but ultimately dropped all four games, three of them by a single run. In a 1-0 loss to Johnson & Wales on April 20, Levins collected her 100^th collegiate hit.

Davis finished the year leading the squad with a .432 batting average to rank seventh overall in the GNAC and 22^nd in the country among freshman hitters. She was selected to the GNAC All-Conference Second Team as was Garrity who ended her junior campaign with a .367 batting average, up 112 percentage points from last season.

The Saints will bid farewell to Lloid and fellow senior Jackie Murray (Saugus, Mass.) after four years of service to the softball program. EC expects to return 10 players for the 2013 roster while welcoming a large incoming class for the 2014 season in hopes to qualify for the GNAC tournament for the first time since 2006.