Softball Splits In Friday’s NECC Championship Tournament Action
Softball Splits In Friday's NECC Championship Tournament Action
BOSTON, Mass. – Second-seeded Elms College downed No. 3 Mitchell College 4-0, before falling 8-2 to top-seeded Lesley University in Friday afternoon's double-elimination New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship tournament action at UMass-Boston.
With its split, Elms improves to 18-16 overall.
Due to inclement weather forecast for Saturday, Elms will square off against No. 3 Mitchell at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 9 in semifinal action. The winner will take on No. 1 Lesley at 1:00 p.m. and again at 3:00 p.m. if necessary.
Game One – Elms 4, Mitchell 0
In Elms' opening contest against Mitchell, sophomore pitcher Courtney Hampton (Westfield, Mass.) tossed eight strikeouts, held the Mariners to two hits and allowed no runs in a complete-game effort to earn her 12th win and move to 12-6 overall.
The Blazers provided run support with two runs in the bottom of the second when sophomore left fielder Marlene DiRaimo (Cranston, R.I.) cracked a one-out infield single, advanced to second on a two-out single by Hampton, and then came home on a base hit by junior designated player Destinee Meeker (Bantam, Conn.). A blast through the right side of the infield off the bat of senior catcher Tiffany Williams (Berlin, Conn.) allowed Hampton to score before a strikeout ended Elms' rally at 2-0.
Elms extended its lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth when freshman third baseman Rachel Butt (Agawam, Mass.) drew a one-out walk, advanced to second on passed ball, and then scored on a triple to center field by Hampton. Meeker earned a free pass to give the Blazers runners on the corners with just one out before Williams laced a single up the middle to bring home the second score of the inning. Mitchell pitcher Kristina Torres (Groton, Conn.) forced a pair of fly outs to get out of the jam.
Hampton helped her own cause in game one going 3 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Williams connected for two hits and drove in a pair of runs to pace Elms in the winning effort.
Torres suffered the loss for Mitchell and moves to 10-8 on the season.
Game Two – Lesley 8, Elms 2
Elms got off to a fast start in the first inning against top-seeded Lesley when sophomore shortstop Jenna Lipscomb (Cambridge, Mass.) got on board thanks to a bunt single to the left side. A base hit by senior second baseman Ally Graffum (Ipswich, Mass.) sent Lipscomb to third before an RBI sacrifice bunt by freshman first baseman Sarah Buckley (Wilbraham, Mass.) allowed her to score giving the Blazers a 1-0 edge.
Lesley used a pair of Elms miscues and an RBI base on balls by Alyson Durben (Stow, Mass.) and an RBI groundout by Georgia Saltzman (Lynn, Mass.) to take a 3-1 lead after one inning of play.
The Lynx added three more runs in the bottom of the third and two more in the bottom of the sixth to post an 8-1 advantage heading to the seventh inning.
The Blazers scored a run in the top of the seventh when Hampton reached on a two-base error, advanced to third on a groundout, and then scored on a groundout to cut the lead to six, but a line out to center field ended the game.
Elms' junior pitcher Ani Ramsdell (Gardner, Mass.) pitched the first 2.2 innings and suffered the loss to move to 2-10 overall. Lesley starter Cassandra Knox (Sea Cliff, N.Y.) pitched a complete game to earn her 21st victory of the season and improve to 21-7 overall.
Durben, Saltzman and Chelsea Quackenbush (East Hampton, Conn.) each drove in two runs to pace the Lynx in victory.
