Softball Falls Short At WNEC, 7-4

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Elms College sophomore outfielder Marlene DiRaimo (Cranston, R.I.) went 2 for 4 at the plate with an RBI but Western New England College (WNEC) plated three runs to break a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the fifth to help lift the Golden Bears to a 7-4 victory over the Blazers in Thursday afternoon's non-conference softball game at WNEC Softball Field.

With the loss, Elms falls to 9-13 on the season, while WNEC improves to 20-17 overall.

With the score knotted at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning, WNEC's Kate Post (Bridgewater, Mass.) cracked a one-out single through the right side before Rachel Wyrwa (Methuen, Mass.) blasted a two-run homer to straightaway center field, giving the Golden Bears a 5-3 lead. Christina Farese (Marlborough, Mass.) and Sara Barnes (Berkley, Mass.) then connected for back-to-back doubles to give WNEC a 6-3 lead before Elms' starting junior pitcher Ani Ramsdell (Gardner, Mass.) forced a pair of groundouts to get out of the inning.

WNEC added a single run in the bottom of the sixth and took a 7-3 advantage in to the top of the seventh. Blazers' freshman first baseman Sarah Buckley (Wilbraham, Mass.) delivered a one-out base hit up the middle and moved to second on a groundout before sprinting home on a run-scoring single from DiRaimo. The Golden Bears gave up a walk to sophomore third baseman Kelly Callahan (Monson, Mass.) to give Elms the tying run at the plate, but a fly out to right field ended Elms' rally as WNEC was able to secure its 7-4 victory.

WNEC reliever Victoria Lospinuso (West Islip, N.Y.) pitched the final four innings and recorded the win to move to 6-4 on the season, fanning five batters in the process. Ramsdell suffered the loss for the Blazers following a complete-game effort to move to 1-8 on the season.

WNEC scored a run in the bottom of the first and two in the bottom of the second to take a 3-0 lead into the top of the third frame. Elms' sophomore shortstop Jenna Lipscomb (Cambridge, Mass.) drew a leadoff walk and then moved to second on an infield single by senior second baseman Ally Graffum (Ipswich, Mass.). A groundout by Buckley moved both runners into scoring position for DiRaimo who cleared the bases with a single up the middle cutting the deficit to one at 3-2.

Elms tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the fourth inning when Buckley knocked in Lipscomb who reached on a one-out single earlier in the stanza.

Lauren Arsenault (Fitchburg, Mass.) led the WNEC offensive charge going 3 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Wyrwa finished with a pair of hits and three runs driven in to highlight the win.

DiRaimo, Lipscomb, Buckley and senior outfielder Kim Lastowski (Turners Falls, Mass.) struck for two hits apiece in the losing effort for the Blazers.

Elms returns to New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action on Saturday, April 24 when it hosts Wheelock College in doubleheader action. First pitch of game one is set for 12:00 p.m. at Cheryl R. Condon Field.