LITTLE RIVER, S.C. - The Regis (Mass.) softball team fought back from a pair of multi-run deficits on Tuesday afternoon, but couldn't stop a high-flying Penn College offense as the Pride fell 18-9 to the Wildcats at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex.
With the loss, the Pride falls to 1-3 on the season, while the Wildcats improve to 2-4.
Despite the high score, the game appeared to be headed towards a pitchers dual after the first two innings went by without a run scored, but the bats came alive for both teams starting in the third inning. The Wildcats opened the scoring the three unearned runs in the top of the inning, but the Pride responded immediately. With the bases loaded and two away in the bottom of the third, juniors Brianna Napoleone (Medford, Mass.) and Allie Petillo (West Sayville, N.Y.) picked up back-to-back two run base hits to put the Pride ahead for the first time in the ball game.
Penn College took the lead back in the top of the fourth when Wildcat pitcher Kassie Winters (Sayre, Pa.) helped her own cause with a two-out double to put her team ahead 5-4. The Wildcats would stretch their lead to 6-4 on a Regis error in the top of the fifth, but for the second time, the Pride would have an answer.
Sophomore Ellery Rasmussen (Kingston, N.H.) opened the frame by hitting a slicing liner to center that got past the Penn College centerfielder for a triple. Senior Alexa Nejaime (Sandisfield, Mass.) brought home Rasmussen in the next at bat with a base hit to centerfield. Two batters later and after Nejaime advanced to second on a wild pitch, Petillo ripped a base hit up the middle for her third run batted in on the day to level the score going to the sixth inning.
The final two innings, however, were all Wildcats, as Penn College scored six runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to put the game on ice. The Pride scored three in the bottom of the sixth, but could not overcome its final deficit.
Eight Wildcats finished the afternoon with multiple hits as the team combined for 20 total, led by sophomore Kylie Shreiner (East Petersburg, Pa.), who went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Napoleone (2-for-3, two runs, three RBIs) and Petillo (2-for-4, three RBIs) led the way for the Pride offensively on the afternoon.
Sophomore Madi McLellan (Fremont, N.H.) recorded the loss on the day, allowing four earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched, dropping to 1-3 on the season. The win went to Winters for Penn College, throwing five innings allowing just two earned runs.
The Pride will be back in action on Wednesday morning for its second straight doubleheader, with games scheduled against Sage at 9:30 a.m. and Medaille at 3:30 p.m.
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