WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – In a first round game of the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Softball Tournament, Regis College lost to University of Saint Joseph, 8-1, Tuesday afternoon at USJ Softball Field.
USJ took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Liliana Stoddard led off with a single and came around to score on a triple down the right field line by Isabel Milardo. Milardo would later come home on a groundball hit by Brianna Catalani to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead.
Stoddard led off the fourth inning with an infield single, took advantage of a Regis error to eventually reach third base, and scored on a single to center field by Catalani.
Bri Page (New Boston, N.H.) started the top of the fifth inning with a double to the left-center field gap. Bianca Burke (Cambridge, Mass.) advanced pinch runner Lexi Nichols (Granby, Conn.) to third base with a sacrifice bunt, and a sacrifice fly to center field by Abby Erickson (Worcester, Mass.) brought Nichols home to bring the Pride within two at 3-1.
The Blue Jays would answer back in the bottom of the fifth inning, starting with a leadoff single by Jenna Zup followed by a double from Frankie Ferrante that drove Zup in. Ferrante would advance to third on a sacrifice bunt and score on a sacrifice fly to right field hit by Milardo, extending the USJ advantage to 5-1.
The home team loaded the bases in the sixth inning and scored three runs on a two-out bases-clearing double by Riley Mulligan. Regis put together a scoring threat in the seventh inning, loading the bases with singles by Chloe Beland (Southborough, Mass.) and Page as well as a walk drawn by Erickson, but USJ reliever Amanda Savinelli induced a groundout to end the game.
Natalie Amato picked up the victory for the Blue Jays, allowing four hits, one walk, and one run in 6 1/3 innings of work while striking out 11 batters. Kate McGrath (Boston, Mass.) took the loss for the Pride, striking out three hitters in six innings.
USJ (21-18) advances to the double elimination portion of the GNAC Softball Tournament that begins Thursday, May 5. The Blue Jays will face Johnson and Wales starting at 2 p.m., with the winner taking on host Albertus Magnus at 4 p.m. and the loser playing an elimination game hosted by Emmanuel Saturday, May 7, at 12 p.m.
Regis ends the 2022 season with an 11-25 overall record but, with a 7-9 league record, made its first appearance in the GNAC Softball Tournament since the Pride joined the league in 2017-18.