Softball Splits Fourth Consectutive Doubleheader, Earns 8-0 Game One Win at Regis

THE BASICS 

Scores: 
Game 1: Emmanuel 8 – Regis 0 (Final/6)
Game 2: Regis 2 – Emmanuel 1

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (16-14, 6-2 GNAC North)
Regis College Pride (11-19, 2-4 GNAC South)

Location: Weston, Mass. – Regis Softball Field

Date: Thursday, April 20, 2023

THE LEAD – For the fourth consecutive doubleheader, the Emmanuel Saints split the two-game set, this time with the Regis Pride, as an 8-0 win by Emmanuel in game one and a 2-1 win for Regis in game two, set the scene for another Saints split doubleheader.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 1)

• A lead-off triple by Saints sophomore Taylor Chelak (Westborough, Mass.) set the stage for a two-run top of the first for Emmanuel. The next batter, senior Julyanne Pacheco (Somerset, Mass.) put EC up 1-0 with an RBI double. After stealing third later in the inning, Pacheco would score on an RBI groundout, giving Emmanuel a 2-0 edge.
• The Saints doubled their lead in the top of the third with the help of Chelak getting on base with her second triple of the afternoon. A walk and stolen base later in the inning put runners on second and third as senior Maegan Amsler (Hanover, Mass.) stepped in and delivered a two-run double into the right-center gap, boosting the lead to 4-0.
• Emmanuel added three more in the fifth, starting with another Amsler base hit, a single through the right-side of the infield, that scored Pacheco and Chelak, upping the EC lead to 6-0. Amsler would score later in the inning with the help of an RBI single by senior Tianna Dawe (Lynn, Mass.), giving EC a 7-0 advantage.
• Amsler struck again in the top of the sixth with an RBI triple that gave Emmanuel an 8-0 lead, eventually forcing the eight-run rule after the Saints held Regis scoreless in the bottom of the sixth.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (GAME 1)

• Amsler batted 3-for-4 in the first game, with a double, a triple, while matching a career-high with six RBI. Chelak also finished 3-for-4 with a double, two triples, and three runs scored.
• Pacheco and Dawe added multi-hit games, finishing 2-for-4 and 2-for-3, respectively. The four combined hits were all singles while Pacheco added two runs scored and an RBI.
• Along with her two-hit game, Dawe pitched all six innings for the Saints, allowing just four hits while striking out seven. The victory boosts Dawe's record to 8-12 this season.
• Regis's four hits were all singles, but senior Kayla Morrill (Lynn, Mass.) managed to bat 2-for-3, posting the Pride's only multi-hit performance.
• Junior Colby Butterfield (Gilford, N.H.) went 4.1 innings for the Pride, allowing seven runs, all earned, on eight hits, falling to 6-9 with the loss.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 2)

• After a scoreless two innings, the game's only runs for both teams would come in their respective halves of the third. The Saints benefitted from an RBI single by junior Olivia Conti (Cranston, R.I.), that put Emmanuel ahead 1-0.
• But that one-run lead was short-lived as the Pride led off the bottom of the inning with back-to-back singles, putting two runners on. Later in the inning, a passed ball helped the runners advance to second and third as an RBI single by senior Diana Petrarca (Coventry, R.I.) tied the game and an RBI double by Ciara Collins (Lynn, Mass.) gave Regis the 2-1 lead.
• The Saints had their chances in the sixth and seventh, leaving four runners stranded in the final two innings, sealing the Pride's one-run win. In the sixth, a run of three consecutive singles loaded the bases with one out. But a full count strikeout and flyout to center field ended the threat in the sixth.
• In the seventh, a pair of one-out singles placed runners on first and second. The game's final play came on a double play, as a flyout to center field was the second out, and the EC runner on second attempted to tag up and advance to third, but sophomore Bianca Burke (Cambridge, Mass.) threw a perfect ball to third base, and the resulting tag out ended the game, in favor of Regis, 2-1.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (GAME 2)

• Petrarca and Collins both batted 1-for-3 in the second game with Collins's double being the Pride's only extra-base hit of the doubleheader. Both players had Regis's lone RBI.
• Petrarca pitched a complete game for the Pride, allowing one run on 10 hits while striking out three. The senior pitcher improved to 4-7 with the win.
• Eight of the Saints nine starters recorded a hit in game two with Chelak providing the only multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles.
• In game two, despite 10 hits, the Saints didn't manage an extra-base hit in the game.
• First-year Madison Hinkley (Somers, Conn.) pitched 5.1 innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on five hits. The defeat drops Hinkley to 1-1 on the year.

UP NEXT

• The Saints resume a three doubleheaders in four days stretch with a trip to Albertus Magnus on Saturday, April 22, with games starting at noon.
• The Pride hit the road for a doubleheader with Elms on April 22, starting at 1:00 p.m.