SOFTBALL TOPS LASELL FOR FIRST GNAC WIN

NEWTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College Softball Team split a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) games with Lasell College on Saturday afternoon at Taylor Field. Emmanuel picked up a 3-1 comeback win in the first game, before Lasell rebounded with a 6-1 victory in the second game of the doubleheader. Lasell improved to 10-4 overall and 3-1 in GNAC games while Emmanuel now stands at 7-10 on the season and 1-3 in league play.

Game One - Emmanuel 3, Lasell 1 (8 innings)

Courtney Moen (Brookfield, Mass.) had a single and double while scoring the Lasers lone run of the contest and Denise Archetto (Cranston, R.I.) was 1 for 4 with an RBI single as Lasell was limited to five hits in the contest. Eileen Bergin (Arlington, Mass.) took the loss for Lasell, going all eight innings while holding Emmanuel to three runs, one earned, scattering eight hits and striking out four.

Catherine Davis (Wethersfield, Conn.) had a triple and two doubles for Emmanuel, scoring twice and knocking in a run. Kayla Howard (Belmont, N.H.) added a single and a double and Jennifer Garrity (Lynn, Mass.) notched an RBI single. Jill Kilcoyne (Worcester, Mass.) threw all eight innings for Emmanuel limiting the Lasers to one run and five hits while striking out eight.

Emmanuel went down in order in the top half of the first inning, and the Lasers took an early lead when Moen reached on a one-out walk before coming around to score on a two-out single by Archetto. Emmanuel was unable to produce anything from two-out doubles, by Howard in the top of the second and by Davis in the top of the third and Kilcoyne held Lasell scoreless to send the two teams into the top of the sixth inning with Lasell still holding a 1-0 lead.

Davis led off the top of the sixth with a triple, coming in to tie the game on a single by Garrity to get Emmanuel on the scoreboard. Bergin got out of the inning without allowing another runner and neither team was able to score in the seventh sending the game into extra innings.

Davis opened the top of the eighth with a double, scoring a run then scoring on an error to make it 3-1 in favor of Emmanuel heading to the home half of the eighth frame. Bergin was hit by a pitch with two outs in the inning, and Nicole LeBlanc (Easton, Mass.) singled to give Lasell the bases loaded. Kilcoyne induced a game-ending pop-out to escape the jam and seal the Saints' victory.

Game Two – Lasell 6, Emmanuel 1

Courtney Moen had a strong performance in the second game as well, going 2 for 2 at the plate with a run scored and three driven in, and Nicole LeBlanc hit a two-run homer and finished with three RBI's for the Lasers. Krystal Enko (Haydenville, Mass.) put together another strong performance in the circle, going all seven innings and allowing one run on five hits to earn the victory.

Jennifer Garrity finished with a single, walk and one RBI in three plate appearances for the Saints, while Samantha Adams (Sanford, Maine) doubled in three at-bats. Adams took the loss for Emmanuel, allowing four runs on four hits in three innings of work before giving way to Val Kiers (West Warwick, R.I.) who yielded two runs, one earned, on two hits in three innings pitched.

Lasell scored in the home half of the first for the second straight game, taking a 1-0 lead when Santina Antoshak (Closter, N.J.) singled, stole second and scored on Moen's subsequent single. Emmanuel answered in the top of the third when, Keriann Vulpis (East Rockaway, N.Y.) singled, stole second and crossed the plate on Garrity's single.

The Lasers put up a three-spot in the bottom of the third, to take a 4-1 lead. Emily DeAngelis (Shelton, Conn.) led off with a triple and Antoshak walked and swiped second to give Lasell runners on second and third with nobody out. Moen again singled, plating a pair this time, before taking second on the throw home. Bergin reached on an error and both runners advanced to second and third when Archetto grounded out. Moen scored on an RBI groundout by LeBlanc but Bergin was stranded at third as Emily Noll (Weymouth, Mass.) flew out to end the inning.

Both teams went down in order in the fourth inning and neither threatened in the fifth, sending the game to the top of the sixth with Lasell holding a 4-1 lead. Archetto reached on an error to open the sixth and LeBlanc followed with her two-run blast to make it a 6-1 lead and Enko retired Emmanuel in order to close out the win.

Emmanuel is scheduled to host Framingham State University on Tuesday April 1st in a 6:30 PM double-header, while Lasell will take on Norwich University on Tuesday the 1st in GNAC action.

- Courtesy of Lasell College Sports Information