Softball Earns Double-Header Sweep Against Wheelock College, 19-1 and 24-1

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore third baseman Hayley Zisk (Baldwinville, Mass.) went a combined 5 for 5 at the dish with six runs scored and nine runs driven in to help pace the Blazers to a double-header sweep of Wheelock College in Sunday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) softball twinbill at Cheryl R. Condon Field.

With the wins, Elms improves to 7-9 on the season, 4-0 in conference action, while Wheelock College moves to 0-4 overall, 0-2 in league play.

Elms won the first game 19-1 sparked a by 10-run first inning. The Blazers then scored 16 runs in the third frame of game two en route to a 24-1 victory in the nightcap.

In game one, Elms' junior catcher Sarah Buckley (Wilbraham, Mass.) went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple and a run scored, while sophomore left fielder Kellie McLaughlin (Pittsfield, Mass.) added three hits and scored three runs.

Zisk and senior right fielder Jennifer Killion (Cambridge, Mass.) notched two hits apiece, while sophomore first baseman Ally Witaszek (Feeding Hills, Mass.), Zisk and junior second baseman Ali Bonavita (Agawam, Mass.) drove in two runs each.

Freshman pitcher Elizabeth Patient (Leicester, Mass.) pitched five innings to earn the win, allowing one run on five hits while striking out two. Patient (2-2) helped her own cause going 3 for 3 at the plate with three runs scored and two runs batted in.

Nicole Perullo (Revere, Mass.) suffered the loss for Wheelock, while Sara Buscemi (Arlington, Mass.), Kim Perault (Medford, Mass.), Sarah Negron (Northbridge, Mass.), Ashley Quan (Belmont, Mass.) and Nichole Damata (Roslindale, Mass.) added a hit apiece. Damata drove in Negron for the Wildcats' lone run in the top of the second.

In game two, Zisk was one of four Blazers to crack three hits as she ripped a grand slam as part of a 16-run third inning and finished with seven RBI and four runs scored in the contest.

Killion was 3 for 3 with four runs scored and four runs driven in, while McLaughlin, Buckley and freshman pitcher Alyson Santerre (Thompson, Conn.) recorded three hits each. Buckley and Witaszek drove in two runs each, while junior center fielder Leah Spring (South Hadley, Mass.) notched three RBI.

In the circle for Elms, Santerre (1-3) scattered just two hits and struck out four batters, while Wheelock received a hit each from Negron and Jacky Hull (Braintree, Mass.). Buscemi delivered an RBI to score Hull to give the Wildcats their lone run of the contest in the top of the third.

Quan (0-2) suffered the game two loss for Wheelock.

Elms returns to non-conference action on Thursday, April 5 with a 4:00 p.m. game at Western New England University in Springfield, Mass.