Softball Sweeps USJ in Sunday Showdown, 4-3 & 10-5

THE BASICS 

GM 1 Score: Emmanuel College, 4 – Univ. of Saint Joseph (CT), 3
GM 2 Score: Emmanuel College, 10 – Univ. of Saint Joseph (CT), 5

Records: 
Emmanuel Saints (7-9, 4-0 GNAC)
USJ Blue Jays (11-10, 2-6 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Roberto Clemente Field

Date: Sunday, April 10, 2022

THE LEAD – Emmanuel College posted a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference victories over the University of Saint Joseph Sunday afternoon in GNAC softball action at Roberto Clemente Field. The Saints walked-off with a 4-3 win in Game 1 before recording a 10-5 victory in Game 2 to stay unbeaten in conference action.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GM 1)

• EC junior leftfielder Jadynne Hill (Haverhill, Mass.) opened the scoring with a solo shot to right that just cleared the fence to give the Saints a 1-0 lead in the third.
• The Blue Jays briefly took the lead in the fourth behind a pair of solo homers from seniors Frankie Ferrante (Southington, Conn.) and Riley Mulligan (Lincoln, R.I.) to make it a 2-1 game but Emmanuel answered in the bottom half of the frame with another solo home run, this time from senior Grace Orcutt (Lexington, Mass.) to even the score at 2-2.
• USJ regained the lead at 3-2 in the top of the seventh on a pinch-hit RBI single to right field by Brianna Catalani (Watertown, Conn.) to set the stage for the hosts in the bottom half of the inning.
• Trailing by one, Orcutt worked a walk to open the frame and was replaced on the basepath by first year pinch runner Amanda Penney (Warwick, R.I.). Senior second baseman Kiana Hinson (Whittier, Calif.) attempted to bunt Penney into scoring position but a USJ throwing error put runners at the corners with no outs. Hinson quickly swiped second to put the winner run in scoring position for Hill who roped an RBI infield single to third to plate Penney to even the game at 3-3. Junior centerfielder Julyanne Pacheco (Somerset, Mass.) worked another walk to load the bases for senior third basemen Renae Lacroix (Cumberland, R.I.). Lacroix delivered with a single through to left field to plate Hinson and walk the Saints off with the 4-3 come-from-behind win.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (GM 1)

• Lacroix finished the game going 3-for-4 at the plate with the game-winning RBI while Hill posted a 3-for-3 showing with a pair of RBI's in the win.
• Junior starting pitching Tianna Dawe (Peabody, Mass.) threw well for the Saints going 6 and 1/3 innings allowing the three runs on seven hits while striking out four. She did not factor into the decision as Orcutt came on in relief to record the last two outs of the seventh with a pair of strikeouts to earn the win and improve to 3-0 on the season.
• First year hurling Amanda Savinelli (New Haven, Conn.) was a tough-luck loser for the Blue Jays, working 6.0+ innings and allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits while striking out one to fall to 4-7 on the year.
• Mulligan paced the USJ offensive effort with a 3-for-3 showing with a HR and two runs scored.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GM 2)

• USJ jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first, collecting three hits while drawing walks including a bases loaded pass to sophomore Adriana Quealy (East Hartford, Conn.) to give the visitors an early three-run cushion.
• EC got one back in the bottom half of the inning on an unearned run. Lacroix doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch and came around to score on a throwing error to cut the deficit to 3-1.
• The score remained locked at 3-1 until the fourth when a leadoff solo blast by senior catcher Avery Webb (Hollis, N.H.) got the Saints to within one at 3-2. Later in the inning, the Saints again benefitted from an USJ miscue as a dropped foul ball extended the inning with two outs before EC made them pay. Hill was at bat during the error and immediately singled down the left field line to keep things going. Next up, Pacheco collected an RBI single to right center to tie the game at 3-3.
• Emmanuel broke the game open with a seven-run sixth to build a 10-3 cushion. The Saints loaded the bases to start the frame before Lacroix's RBI single to right gave EC the lead for good at 4-3. Next up, sophomore shortstop Olivia Conti (Cranston, R.I.) doubled to left-center to clear the bases and make it 7-3. Two batters later, Webb delivered the knockout punch with her second homer of the game with a two-run moon shot to left center to make it 9-3. Hinson drove in the final Emmanuel run of the day on an RBI single to left to account for the 10-3 score heading into the final frame.
• USJ was able to get two back as first year Jenna Zup (Berlin, Conn.) notched an RBI triple down the right field line, moving the score to 10-4 before scoring on an RBI groundout by Catalina to account for the 10-5 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (GM 2)

• Webb enjoyed a 3-for-4 outing with the pair of home runs to mark the second multi home run game of her career. Hinson also posted three hits while Lacroix and Orcutt each added two hits in the win.
• First year pitcher Brenna Whittaker (Cranston, R.I.) threw well in relief, entering the game in the second to pitch the final six innings for the win scattering four hits while recording four K's to improve to 3-4 on the season.
• Savinelli suffered the Game 2 loss as well, throwing an inning and a third (1 1/3) and allowing the go-ahead run in the loss to drop to 4-8 on the season.  

UP NEXT

• Emmanuel is back in action on Wednesday, April 13 vs. Simmons University in a key GNAC North Division showdown scheduled to begin at 5:00 PM at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass.
• USJ hosts Trinity (CT) the same day for a non-conference twinbill set for a 3:00 PM first pitch in West Hartford, Conn.