EMMANUEL SPLITS WITH LASELL IN GNAC DOUBLE-HEADER
April 10, 2011
BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel Softball Team split with nearby Lasell College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) double-header played on Clemente Field on Sunday afternoon. The Saints dropped a 10-6 decision to the Lasers in the opener, before rebounding to shutout the visitors, 2-0 in the late game. Emmanuel now stands at 7-15 overall and 3-9 in GNAC play, while Lasell's record is 6-18 on the season and 6-4 in the league.
After a scoreless first inning to open game one, the Lasers manufactured 5 runs off of 3 hits in the top of the second to take a quick 5-0 lead. Senior centerfielder Michelle Torres (Waltham, Mass.) singled and junior Marissa McHugh (Plymouth, Mass.) reached after being hit by a pitch. Both runners would eventually score, when Kelly Silvia (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) singled. Silvia later scored on a passed ball and sophomore leftfielder Candace Hankard (Wakefield, Mass.) ripped a 2 RBI single that scored the Lasers' 4th and 5th runs.
Lasell's sophomore pitcher Alison Saluti (Braintree, Mass.) held the Saints hitless through three innings, but Emmanuel's bats heated up in the bottom of the fourth. After a single by freshman shortstop Sierra Roccaro (Parlin, N.J.), junior catcher Elyse Turgeon (Dracut, Mass.) blasted a homer over the fence, putting two runs on the board for the Saints.
Another solid Emmanuel at-bat in the bottom of the fifth swung the momentum and the lead over to the home team. Freshman 2nd baseman Cyndi Sperl (Chatham , N.Y.) led things off with a hit and sophomore leftfielder Jackie Murray (Saugus, Mass.) reached on an error. Sperl scored on an overthrow and Murray advanced to third after several Lasell miscues. Freshman 3rd baseman Kayla Howard (Belmont, N.H.) then stepped to the plate and laid down a perfect bunt, scoring Murray on a suicide squeeze, and cutting the Saints' deficit to 5-4.
A single by Kelly Lloid (Issaquah, Wash.) would score Howard and knot the contest at 5-all. Emmanuel then scored the go-ahead run, when Roccaro hit an RBI single, scoring Julia Levins (Uxbridge, Mass.) and the Saints took a 6-5 edge.
The Emmanuel lead lasted through the sixth, but the Lasers put together another 5-run surge in the top of the seventh. Five Lasell hits, including a triple from junior shortstop Talia DeChiara (Kingston, Mass.) led to five more runs and the Lasers came away with a 10-6 win in game one.
Saluti picked up the win for Lasell, giving up 9 hits and 4 earned runs, while striking out 3 of her 32 batters faced. Lloid took the loss for Emmanuel, giving up the opening 5 runs. Freshman Jennifer Garrity (Lynn, Mass.) relieved Lloid in the 3rd. Garrity put in five innings of work, giving up 7 hits and 3 earned runs in a solid outing.
Game two featured a scoreless stretch that spanned four innings. Lasers' senior pitcher Kirsten Mammola (North Reading, Mass.) held a no-hitter through four. Roccaro reached on a Lasell error in the bottom of the 5th and Turgeon drilled an RBI double off the fence in left centerfield with no outs in the frame. Another RBI bunt by Howard scored Turgeon and Emmanuel took a 2-0 lead.
The Saints put together two perfect defensive innings to close out the game and pull away with the 2-0 win. Junior pitcher Kathryn Copp (Fremont, N.H.) recorded the shutout win for Emmanuel. Copp went the distance, throwing a 4-hitter and fanning 6 of her 25 batters faced. Mammola took the loss for the Lasers, giving up 3 hits in her 6 innings pitched.
Emmanuel will host Lesley University on Monday night in a non-conference single game, slated to begin at 7pm. The Saints will then take on Pine Manor College in a GNAC double-header at Clemente Field on Tuesday night at 6pm.