SOFTBALL TAKES TWO OVER ANNA MARIA IN GNAC TWINBILL
PAXTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College softball team posted a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference wins Wednesday afternoon over Anna Maria College, collecting an 8-0 win in Game 1 followed by an 8-3 win in Game 2. The Saints improve to 13-11 on the year and 10-2 in GNAC play and have are currently on a seven-game winning streak while the loss drops the AMCats to 4-20 and 2-12.
PAXTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College softball team posted a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference wins Wednesday afternoon over Anna Maria College, collecting an 8-0 win in Game 1 followed by an 8-3 win in Game 2. The Saints improve to 13-11 on the year and 10-2 in GNAC play and have are currently on a seven-game winning streak while the loss drops the AMCats to 4-20 and 2-12.
GAME 1 – 8-0, EC (5 inn.)
EC senior pitcher Jill Kilcoyne (Worcester, Mass.) hurled a complete-game shutout, surrendering just two hits while striking out 11 over five innings of work.
The Saints gave Kilcoyne all the run support she needed in the first inning, opening the game up with five runs on six hits in the first frame. Sophomore catcher Casey Sheehan (Medway, Mass.) connected on a two-RBI double while sophomore outfielder Olivia Burgos (Newington, Conn.) posted an RBI single in the frame.
Burgos made it a 6-0 game with her second RBI-single of the afternoon in the third inning before the Saints scored two runs in the top of the fifth to account for the 8-0 final on RBI's from freshman shortstop Sydney Rogers (Southwick, Mass.) and freshman second baseman Kerry Sendrick (Medway, Mass.).
Sendrick ended the game going 3-for-3 with an RBI and run scored while Burgos was 2-for-2 with two RBI, a run and walk.
Jacqueline Lapierre and Sabrina Carreira collected to two AMCat hits.
GAME 2 – 8-3, EC
Kilcoyne returned to the mound to get the Game 2 start, continuing her dominance in the circle with three more shutout innings of work to set the tone for Emmanuel.
In the third inning, EC sophomore designated player Ashley Skey (Brookline, N.H.) connected on a grand slam home run to put the Saints on top, 4-0. The blast was her eighth on the year which is currently tied for the most in the conference.
Rogers made it 6-0 with a two-RBI triple in the third before sophomore Megan Kieselback (Wethersfield, Conn.) added an RBI single in the fifth to bump the lead to 7-0.
M. Kieselback relieved Kilcoyne in the circle and worked the final four innings to earn the win and improve to 4-5 on the year. After the Saints added a run in the seventh to increase the lead to 8-0 on an RBI single by Sendrick, the AMCats bats came to life in the final frame with four hits and three runs including a two-RBI single by Kaitlyn Mora but it was too little too late as Emmanuel held on for the 8-3 win.
Rogers finished the game going 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored while Kieselback helped her own cause with two hits, a run and an RBI in the win.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Saints return to action on Saturday, April 22 when they head to Norwich University for a GNAC twinbill scheduled for 1:00 and 3:00 PM. Anna Maria is back the same day, travelling to Newton, Mass for a doubleheader at Lasell College at 12:00 and 2:00 PM.