Softball Sweeps Doubleheader With Daniel Webster

Box Scores

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior right fielder Kim Lastowski (Turners Falls, Mass.) and junior center fielder Alison McBride (East Providence, R.I.) combined for 10 RBI during the Blazers’ New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) softball doubleheader sweep of Daniel Webster College on Saturday at Cheryl R. Condon Field.

With its two victories, Elms improves to 6-11 overall, 4-0 in NECC action. Daniel Webster slides to 5-10 on the season, 0-2 in conference play.

Game One – Elms 10, Daniel Webster 8

In game one, Daniel Webster scored three quick runs in the top of the first inning before Elms responded with six of its own in the home half of the frame. Lastowski led off with a double to left field, sophomore shortstop Jenna Lipscomb (Cambridge, Mass.) drew a walk, and both runners then advanced a base on a groundout by sophomore third baseman Kelly Callahan (Monson, Mass.). Following another groundout, senior second baseman Ally Graffum (Ipswich, Mass.) connected for a two-run single up the middle. McBride added an RBI base hit to right field and Meeker earned a bases-loaded walk to drive in Elms’ fourth run of the inning. Lastowski, then drilled a two-run single through the left side to give Elms a 6-3 lead before Daniel Webster pitcher Lauren Chesnulevich (Hudson, N.H.) induced a fly out to end the inning.

Trailing 7-4 the Eagles pulled to within one in the top of the fourth when Kristina Rieger (Concord, N.H.) smashed a two-out two-run double to left center, bringing the score to 7-6.

Elms added a run in the bottom of the fourth when McBride scored on a wild pitch, giving the Blazers a slim 8-6 edge. Daniel Webster answered right back in the top of the fifth on RBI singles from Hurd and Amy Waller (Berlin, Mass.) to knot the game at 8-8.

Elms pulled ahead in the bottom of the sixth thanks to Lastowski’s third RBI of the contest on a single up the middle, and a sacrifice fly by Lipscomb, giving the Blazers a 10-8 cushion.

Sophomore pitcher Courtney Hampton (Westfield, Mass.) then held the Eagles scoreless in the top of the seventh to secure the victory.

Hampton tossed three strikeouts in the complete-game win and moves to 4-4 on the season, while Chesnulevich suffered the loss and falls to 2-5 overall.

Lastowski was 3 for 5 and sophomore left fielder Marlene DiRaimo (Cranston, R.I.) was 3 for 4 in the win, while McBride and senior catcher Tiffany Williams (Berlin, Conn.) scored three runs each.

Rieger drove in three runs for the Eagles, while six batters recorded two hits in the losing effort for Daniel Webster.

Game Two – Elms 10, Daniel Webster 2 (6 innings)

In the second game, Elms used a six-run fourth inning leading 2-0 to take an 8-0 lead in the contest. The stanza was highlighted by a two-run double from Lastowski, a run-scoring bunt single from Lipscomb, a run-scoring triple from freshman designated player Sarah Buckley (Wilbraham, Mass.), an RBI double from Graffum, and an RBI base hit from McBride.

An RBI groundout by Rieger and a single up the middle by Chesnulevich in the top of the fifth inning cut the lead to 8-2, but McBride knocked in two runs in the bottom of the sixth to give Elms a 10-2 lead and a mercy rule victory.

Blazers’ junior pitcher Ani Ramsdell (Gardner, Mass.) was stellar in the circle, allowing two runs on four hits while fanning four batters en route to her first win of the season (1-7).

Rieger suffered the loss for Daniel Webster and falls to 3-3 overall.

McBride paced the Blazers’ offense with three hits and four RBI, while Graffum added three hits and crossed the dish three times in the win.

Chesnulevich recorded two of the Eagles’ four hits in the nightcap.

Elms returns to NECC action when it travels to Southern Vermont College for a doubleheader. Game one is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start.