Softball Swept in Tuesday Doubleheader With Wentworth, 7-0, 12-8

BOSTON – Back on Clemente Field for the first time in just over a week, Emmanuel softball lost a pair of games as part of a Tuesday doubleheader, dropping game one, 7-0, and game two, 12-8, to the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards in non-conference play.

GAME ONE: WENTWORTH 7 – EMMANUEL 0

The Leopards scored runs in five of the seven innings of game one, tallying one run in four innings while breaking open the game in the top of the sixth with a three-run frame.

Wentworth opened the scoring in the first on an RBI single by junior Jess Rowe (Yardely, Pa.), giving the Leopards a 1-0 lead. Despite the offense waiting until the fourth to score again, starting pitcher, sophomore Julie Schriver (Moscow, Pa.), pitched a complete game gem, holding the Saints offense at bay.

After a first inning error that put one runner on for the Saints, Schriver went on to retire the next 10 Saints batters, all while holding a one-run lead.

Wentworth scored one in the fourth on an RBI groundout for first-year Kelsey Medalia (Tacoma, Wash.) and added another in the fifth on a double steal, giving the Leopards a 3-0 lead.

Schriver pitched 4.2 innings of no-hit ball before Saints junior Amanda Penney (Warwick, R.I.) recorded the only hit of game one, a single into right field.

The Leopards doubled their lead in the sixth, scoring three times to take a 6-0 lead. The visitors would strike for one more run in the seventh, on their way to a 7-0 win.

Wentworth grad student Kaitlin Pettenger (Budd Lake, N.J.) batted 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles. Junior Katie Kranz (Bedford, Mass.) was 3-for-3 while first-year Brianna Miller (West Haven, Conn.) batted 2-for-2 with three runs scored and a solo home run.

Schriver picked up the victory for Wentworth, pitching a complete game, allowing one hit, to go with four strikeouts, improving to 7-6 on the season. Saints first-year MeKayla Poisson (Peabody, Mass.) pitched three innings, allowing just one run, but takes credit for the loss to go to 0-1 this year.

GAME TWO: WENTWORTH 12 – EMMANUEL 8

The Leopards again scored in five of the seven innings in game two while early offensive struggles impacted the Saints ability to stay within striking distance until the final inning.

As the rain began to fall at Clemente, Wentworth and Emmanuel traded two-run first innings, leading to a 2-2 game.

After a scoreless second, Wentworth knocked in a pair in the third to retake the advantage. Rowe started the scoring with an RBI double and later scored on a Saints error, helping Wentworth to a 4-2 lead.

An inning later, a series of Emmanuel errors would help push two more Leopards across the plate while an RBI single later in the fourth increased the lead to 7-2. Wentworth set up the potential for a run-rule victory in the fifth, scoring three more times for a 10-2 lead.

But in the bottom half of the fifth, following back-to-back Wentworth errors that put two Saints on base, senior Olivia Conti (Cranston, R.I.) homered to right-center field for her first of the season, cutting the deficit to 10-5. A sacrifice fly later in the inning would pull the Saints within four.

Wentworth responded with two runs in the top of the sixth, using more Emmanuel miscues to hold a 12-6 edge. As she did in the fifth, Conti responded again, with another home run, this time a two-run shot to left field, getting the Saints back within four at 12-8.

Emmanuel tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh, putting two runners on with two out, but a final fly out to right field held the Saints off the board and gave the Leopards the doubleheader sweep.

Medalia finished 4-for-5 in game two, all four hits coming as singles, to go with two runs scored. Rowe, Miller, and senior Annabelle Hebard (North Attleboro, Mass.) all had a double in the game two win. Rowe took the win in the pitching circle after six innings, allowing eight runs, six earned, to go with four strikeouts, improving to 3-4 in the process.

Conti was 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs, three runs scored, and five RBI. Junior Abigail Farr (Windsor Locks, Conn.) batted 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI. A seventh inning single for junior Taylor Chelak (Westborough, Mass.) produced her 100^th career hit. Junior Madison Marks (Edgewater Park, N.J.) pitched 4.2 innings, allowing 10 runs, six earned, to go with six strikeouts, but falls to 3-4 in the loss.

The Saints (5-9) start Great Northeast Athletic Conference play on Saturday, April 6, traveling to Saint Joseph's College of Maine for a doubleheader, starting at 12:00 p.m. The Leopards (10-10) start Commonwealth Coast Conference play on April 6, hosting Curry at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. for a doubleheader.