Softball Preview: Daniel Webster & Becker

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College softball team will face a pair of New England Collegiate Conference doubleheader tests this weekend as the Blazers welcome Daniel Webster College to Cheryl R. Condon Field Saturday afternoon, followed by a twinbill against Becker College Sunday afternoon. The first pitch of Saturday's game is slated for 2:00 p.m., while Sunday's start time is scheduled for Noon.

The Blazers enter the weekend with a 5-9 overall record, and a 4-2 conference mark. Elms is riding a four-game conference win streak after rattling off doubleheader sweeps of Newbury College and Southern Vermont. Junior Kierstan Skinner (South Windsor, Conn.) has been leading the Blazers at the plate with a team-high 14 hits, including three doubles, a triple, and a home run, with a tied team-high nine RBIs and three stolen bases. Sophomore Kacey Gifford (Suffield, Conn.) has 12 hits with a tied team-high four doubles and tied team-high nine RBIs. Seniors Bethany Grimes (Terryville, Conn.) and Rachel Beery (Springfield, Mass.) have added nine hits each, with Grimes driving in eight runs. Freshman Elizabeth Olszewski (Canterbury, Conn.) has plated five runs on eight hits with a tied team-high four doubles, while senior Gina DiGiovanni (Springfield, Mass.) has swiped a team-high four stolen bases with five hits. Grimes owns a 3-4 record on the mound with 54 strikeouts in 48 innings with six complete games. Senior Jessica Colson (Agawam, Mass.) has gone the distance in four games with 26 strikeouts in 35-plus innings of work.

Daniel Webster holds a 4-4 overall record on the season, with a 2-0 record in NECC play. The Eagles opened the season on a four-game win streak before dropping their last four games by a combined score of 76-8. Freshman Julia Bodoni (Tewksbury, Mass.) paces Daniel Webster at the dish, batting a team-high .381 with a team-highs in hits (8) and stolen bases (4). Junior Ashley England (Old Town, Maine) and sophomore Kayla Free (Quincy, Mass.) has tallied nine hits, including a home run, and scored seven times, while Free has a team-high nine RBIs. Senior Sarah Durocher (Keene, N.H.) has scored a team-high 11 runs with five hits, while freshman Kathryn Noreen (Juneau, Alaska) and junior Abigail Goslin (Wrentham, Mass.) have added five hits each. Durocher (3-4) has been the workhorse on the mound for the Eagles, pitching in 30 of 38 innings, with 31 strikeouts and six complete games.

Becker owns a 4-7 record overall, and will open their NECC scheduled this weekend against Newbury College Saturday afternoon before facing the Blazers on Sunday. The Hawks are 2-3 in their last five games, including a doubleheader sweep by WPI on March 31^st, their last time out. Becker junior Jessica Wheelahan (Watertown, Conn.) is batting a team-high .414 with 12 hits, including a pair of triples, with nine runs scored and four RBIs. Senior Megan Bolduc (Dover, N.H.) has knocked in seven runs on 10 hits with two doubles and a team-high four stolen bases, while senior Jessica Brochu (Hardwick, Vt.) has registered a team-high nine RBIs on six hits, including two doubles and a home run. Freshman Bailey Brait (Marshfield, Mass.) has five hits, with three doubles, and five RBIs. On the mound, junior Kelsey Norberg (1-5; Uxbridge, Mass.) has logged six complete games with 28 strikeouts in 38.1 innings pitched. Freshman Samantha Lee (Prospect, Conn.) has a 3-2 record in five appearances with 17 strikeouts in 27.2 innings with four complete games.

All-time, the Blazers hold a 9-4 edge over Daniel Webster in 13 career meetings dating back to 2009. Elms has defeated Becker in 23 of 35 career meetings dating back to 1986.

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