BROOKLINE, Mass. – The Regis College softball team split Thursday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) twin-bill against Newbury College with a 9-3 win in game one before dropping game two by a 3-2 decision. Sophomore Alyssa McKinnon (Raynham, Mass.) accounted for a homerun, four hits, and 7 RBI over the two games to lead the Pride.
Sophomore Sheri Liggiero (Tewksbury, Mass.) went three-for-four with an RBI and two stolen bases while driving in the game-winning run in the bottom of the second inning of game two to lead the Nighthawks.
Game 1: Regis 9, Newbury 3
Regis jumped on the scoreboard early in game one by pushing across a run, but the Nighthawks responded, taking advantage of Pride miscues in the home half of the frame to take a 2-1 lead.
Liggiero ripped a one-out single then got herself into score position with her sixth steal of the season before scampering to third on a base-hit to left off the bat of junior Olivia Kenyon (Canton, Mass.). Newbury would tie the game on an error by the catcher. Moments later, Kenyon came in to score the second Nighthawk run on a ground out to the right-side of the infield by first year left-fielder Naomi Ricciotti (Phoenix, Ariz.) to give Newbury the one-run advantage.
However, the lead was short-lived. The Pride grabbed a run back in the top of the second inning to knot up the score then re-gain the lead an inning later, plating two runs in the third.
Pride lead-off hitter, sophomore Kirbie Garvey (Littleton, Mass.) led off the inning, reaching on an error. It appeared as if Kenyon was going to get out of the inning unscathed, retiring shortstop Rachel DesRochers (Westford, Mass.) and Sam Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) on strikes for the first two outs. But McKinnon made the Nighthawks pay for the extra out, launching her first homerun of the season to take a 4-2 lead.
Newbury grabbed a run back in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to one-run, but it was as close as they would get. Sophomore right-hander Katie Cuozzo (Lynn, Mass.) kept the Nighthawks off the scoreboard for the next four innings to earn her second victory of the season, tossing a complete game and allowing just three runs on 10 hits while striking out six.
Game 2: Newbury 3, Regis 2
The Nighthawks got off to a fast start in game two. After Kenyon mowed down the side in order in top of the first, Newbury pushed a cross a run in the bottom half to take a 1-0 advantage.
Newbury continued to pad their lead an inning later. Emily Humphries (Westborough, Mass.) reached on a two-base error to right-field, but was quickly retired when Regis third baseman Rachel Tortora (Malden, Mass.) chose to go to second to get Humphries as opposed to throw across the diamond to get Lindsey Clark (Venice, Fla.) for the first out of the inning.
Clark advance 60 feet following a walk to sophomore right-fielder Tory Hoemke (Cape Coral, Fla.) before sophomore Elizabeth Fox (Orono, Maine) loaded the bases with a single into centerfield to bring the line-up back around to the top. Donovan lofted high fly ball to straight-away center field to plate Clark with second run of the game as both Hoemke and Fox advanced 60 feet to bring Liggiero to the dish with two outs.
Liggiero bunted to third and beat the throw to first, allowing Hoemke to score the game's third run. Making a wide-turn at third, Fox quickly caught the eyes of McKinnon, who gunned the ball to shortstop and it quickly escalated into a game of pickle. With Fox dancing off third and Liggiero trying to draw the throw back to first to allow Fox to score, Regis was not going to be out-smarted and quickly went home with the play to nail Fox for the final out of the inning.
The Nighthawks would need the third insurance run as the Pride grabbed two runs on four hits and one error in the top of the fourth. Despite their best efforts, Regis was held scoreless for the remainder of the game as Newbury hung on for the win. DesRochers led the Pride in game two by going 3-for-4 and scoring one of her team's runs, while Bliss chipped in with the other run for the Crimson & Gold.
Newbury moves to 5-12 and 1-3 in the conference, while Regis moves to 3-8 and 1-3 in NECC action. The Nighthawks return to the diamond this weekend, Saturday April 5th, when they host NECC foe Becker College. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. The Pride will also be in action on Saturday when they host Mitchell College in Weston, Mass. at 1:00 p.m.
Release courtesy of Newbury Sports Information