SOFTBALL TOPS EASTERN NAZARENE 10-3 in 2015 OPENER

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – The Emmanuel College softball team opened its 2015 campaign with a 10-3 victory over Eastern Nazarene College during spring break softball at the Gene Cusic Softball Classic. EC opens the year with a 1-0 record while the Lions drop to 1-2 on their trip.

The Saints manufactured a run in the first as junior shortstop Catherine Davis (Wethersfield, Conn.) led off the game with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a fly out. Davis made it 1-0 as she slid safely into home after a passed ball. Eastern Nazarene threatened in their half of the frame by also taking advantage of a pair of walks but sophomore pitcher Samantha Adams (Sanford, Maine) got out of the jam, stranding the runners at second and third by striking out the side.

EC piled on four more runs in the second to make it 5-0 with Davis right in the middle of the action, driving in three runs with a bases clearing double to make it 4-0. Junior second baseman Kerrianne Vulpis (East Rockaway, N.Y.) kept the inning going with an RBI single, plating Davis for the 5-0 Emmanuel lead.

The Saints made it 6-0 in the third as freshman catcher Charlotte Powers (Peabody, Mass.) drove in her first collegiate RBI with a sacrifice fly to left, driving in Adams on the play.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Lions collected their first hits of the contest with back-to-back singles by senior Gabby Humphreys (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) and junior Kendra Brasil (Methuen, Mass.). Humphreys scored on an RBI groundout by sophomore third baseman Kaitlyn Jimenez (Meriden, Conn.) to cut the lead to 6-1.

Emmanuel answered and put the game out of reach in the sixth scoring 4 runs to bump the margin to 10-1.  The knockout blow came on a two-run homer by Vulpis, the second of her collegiate career.

Eastern Nazarene added two runs in the bottom of the frame to extend the game, making it 10-3. An RBI single by Rachel Henry (Lowell, Mass.) gave the Lions one more inning but the Saints brought in sophomore pitcher Jill Kilcoyne (Worcester, Mass.) to close the door, preserving the 10-3 win.

Adams notched the win on the mound tossing three scoreless innings, allowing no hits while striking out six. She also was 3 for 4 at the plate with a run scored.