WESTON, Mass. – Daniel Webster swept a New England Collegiate Conference doubleheader over host Regis College on a cold and wet Saturday afternoon in Weston, Mass. The Eagles won game one, 7-6, in eight innings and followed that up with a 4-3 victory in the second game of the day. Daniel Webster improves to 5-10 overall and 2-0 in the NECC, while Regis drops to 0-9 and 0-2 in league games.
Regis jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first game of the day as Jill Bruning (Medford, Mass.) drove in Katie Blackburn (Milford, Mass.) with an RBI single to right field. Daniel Webster tied the ballgame in the top of the second as Heather Strong (Palmer, Mass.) singled to left field and drove in Amanda Wilson (Merrimack, N.H.). The Eagles tacked on five more runs in the top of the third as Samantha Hill (Hudson, N.H.) homered over the fence in left-centerfield that knocked in a pair of runs. Lexie Fontaine (Plymouth, Mass.) and Strong followed with back-to-back RBI doubles, before Amy Waller (Berlin, Mass.) knocked in Strong with an RBI single to make it a 6-1 ballgame.
The Pride began their come back in the bottom of the fifth, as Jill Bruning drove in two more runs with a single to left that scored Kara Donovan (Woburn, Mass.) and Christine O'Toole (Wareham, Mass.). Following a passed ball that allowed Bruning to reach third, Sarah Porteus (South Wellfleet, Mass.) stepped to the plate and hit a flare that dropped in front of the pitcher, allowing Bruning to score and making it a 6-4 game.
After a leadoff double by Shannon Bradish (Lawrence, Mass.), Donovan drove in Bradish with a single to left-center. Kendra Abram (Acushnet, Mass.) and Blackburn followed with back-to-back singles that loaded the bases and Jasmyne Welch (Wells, Maine) tied the game with a rocket down the left field line that plated Caitlin White (Littleton, Mass.), who had pinch run for Abram.
In the seventh, Daniel Webster had a runner on second, but Amanda Wilson left too soon tagging up, leading to a double play that ended the inning. In the Pride's half of the seventh, Samantha Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) got all the way to third base, but Donovan lined out sharply to third to end the threat. Daniel Webster grabbed the lead for good in the eighth inning as Lauren Chesnulevich (Hudson, N.H.) drove in Waller with an RBI single that gave DWC a 7-6 lead. The Pride went in order in the bottom of the eighth to end the first game.
Regis' Emily Pickett (Wrentham, Mass.) went the first 2.2 innings for the Pride, giving up six earned runs on eight hits. Kendra Abram suffered the setback while going the final 5.1 innings and giving up only one earned run on six hits. Amanda Wilson picked up the win for the Eagles, going all eight innings and giving up six runs (four earned) on 13 hits with five strikeouts.
In game two, Daniel Webster wasted no time taking an early 1-0 lead as Chesnulevich hit a sac fly that scored Waller in the first inning. The Pride responded with two runs in the bottom of the second as Alex Manavas (Montville, Conn.) crushed a two-run double to the gap in left field that plated Bliss and Bruning. Regis tacked on one more in their half of the fourth as Welch hit a towering homerun over the leftfield fence that gave the Pride a 3-1 lead.
In the top of the fifth, Daniel Webster began its comeback as Sarah Durocher (Keene, N.H.) hit a sac fly that scored Courtney Brennan (Beverly, Mass.). On the play, Durocher was mistakenly tagged, allowing Strong to sneak in the back door and score to tie the game at three. Chesnulevich followed with a single to right that scored Waller and gave Daniel Webster a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish. The Pride stranded four runners on base over the final three innings but could not get anyone across as Daniel Webster swept the NECC doubleheader from the Pride.
Sarah Porteus took the loss for Regis, going seven innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits. Sarah Durocher picked up the win, tossing seven innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on only four hits.
Offensively, Jasmyn Welch led the Pride going 3-for-6 on the day with a homerun and two RBI's. Katie Blackburn and Kara Donovan both finished the day going 3-for-8, each scoring a run, with Donovan adding an RBI. Jill Bruning also went 3-for-8 with two runs scored and three RBI.
For the Eagles, Heather Strong ended the day 5-for-7 with two runs scored and two RBI. Samantha Hill went 3-for-7 on the day with a homerun and two RBI, while Lexie Fontaine went 2-for-6 with a run scored and an RBI.
Regis returns to action on Sunday afternoon as the Pride travels to Leicester, Mass. for conference double-header with Becker scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Daniel Webster takes on Southern Vermont on Sunday as well, in a doubleheader also starting at 1:00 p.m.