WESTON, Mass. – Regis College and Southern Vermont College split a New England Collegiate Conference softball doubleheader on Wednesday night in Weston, Mass. The Mountaineers rallied back from a 4-1 deficit to take game one, 8-6 in eight innings, while Regis overcame a 7-0 hole to take a 9-7 win from SVC in game two. Regis improves to 5-15 overall and 5-6 in the NECC with the split, while Southern Vermont moves to 4-25 overall and 1-10 in the NECC.
In game one, Southern Vermont struck first as Alyssa Davis (Lyndonville, Vt.) led off the game with a single and later stole second. Tasha Smith (Capital Heights, Md.) drove in Davis with an RBI single to right that gave the Mountaineers an early 1-0 lead. The Pride responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the second as Alex Manavas (Montville, Conn.) singled home Cassie Langone (Chichester, N.H.), who had singled and stole second. Following a sacrifice bunt from Sarah Porteus (South Wellfleet, Mass.) that moved Kim Daniels (Jaffrey, N.H.) and Manavas into scoring position, Kara Donovan (Woburn, Mass.) knocked in Daniels with an RBI single up the middle. Regis took a 3-1 lead as Manavas and Donovan executed a double-steal that allowed Manavas to scoot home.
The Pride added one more run in the fourth as Kim Daniels led off the inning by lacing a double into the gap in left-center and later coming around to score on an RBI single from Sarah Porteus.
With their backs against the wall in the top of the seventh, pitcher Emily Pickett (Wrentham, Mass.) could not handle a pop fly near the foul line that dropped in and kicked away into the Pride bench, allowing Haley Morgan (Adams, Mass.) to reach second to start the inning. Cindyline Sevilla (Echo Park, Calif.) moved Morgan to third with a grounder to first, and Morgan came around to score on a single down the leftfield line by Hannah Cross (Bennington, Vt.). Alyssa Davis followed with a double to down the line in left that put two runners in scoring position with only one out. Shelby Jones (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) loaded the bases as she fired a groundball to first, but it did not result in an out.
Trailing 4-2 with the bases loaded, Jessica Eldridge (Leicester, Mass.) stroked an RBI single to left field that made it a one run game and kept the bases loaded. Tasha Smith then stepped to the plate and flared a two-run double down the line in right that gave Southern Vermont the 5-4 lead. The Pride escaped any more damage as the Regis defense forced a groundout and pop out to end the inning.
In the Pride half of the seventh, Kara Donovan led off the inning with a double and came around to score on a Samantha Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) RBI single up the middle. That would be all the Pride would get as Southern Vermont's defense held the winning run at second base.
Southern Vermont took advantage of the extra base runner in extra innings as the Mountaineers loaded the bases on back-to-back singles. The Pride got the first out of the inning on a force at home, but Davis burned the Pride with a two-run single that gave SVC a 7-5 lead. The Mountaineers added one more on an RBI groundout by Shelby Jones and took an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the eighth.
Cassie Langone led off the top of the eighth with a double over the head of the centerfielder, but Jasmyne Welch (Wells, Maine), who had been placed on second, fell in the base-paths, leading to the first out of the inning. After Daniels reached, Alex Manavas made it a two run game with an RBI single that scored Langone. Unfortunately for Regis, Hayley McDonald (Latham, N.Y.) forced a pop-out and a fly-out to end the game, stranding a pair of runners.
Regis' Emily Pickett suffered the setback, going eight innings and allowing eight runs (seven earned) on 15 hits with five strikeouts. Offensively, the Pride were led by two-hit days from Donovan, Bliss, Langone, Daniels, and Alex Manavas, who also drove in a pair of runs.
Southern Vermont was paced by a 4-for-5 day from Alyssa Davis, while Shelby Jones, Jessica Eldridge, Tasha Smith, Cindyline Sevilla, and Hannah Cross adding two hits apiece for SVC. Hayley McDonald picked up her fourth win of the year by going eight innings and allowing six runs (four earned) on five strikeouts.
In game two, Southern Vermont took advantage of four Regis errors in the second inning to take a 7-0 lead. Haley Morgan, Hannah Cross, Alyssa Davis, and Shelby Jones all drove in runs before the Pride recorded the first out of the inning. Tasha Smith then reached on a fielder's choice that scored a run, as the Pride tried to get a force at home, but the throw was offline, giving SVC a 5-0 lead. Brianne Nichols (Colonie, N.Y.) drove in a run with an RBI single before the Mountaineers ended the scoring with a groundball to short that scored Shelby Jones.
Regis began its comeback in the home half of the third as O'Toole and Donovan opened the inning with singles. Kim Daniels drove in the first run of the game for Regis with an RBI double, and Katie Blackburn (Milford, Mass.) followed with an RBI groundout that scored the second run. Kim Daniels came around to score on a Southern Vermont error that left it a 7-3 game at the end of three.
Emily Pickett relieved starter Sarah Porteus and kept the Mountaineers off the board in the third and fourth inning. The Pride helped out their pitcher as Regis scored six runs in the fourth inning to take a 9-7 lead. The Pride loaded the bases as all three runners reached to open the sixth and Kara Donovan cleared the bases with a three-run double down the left field line to make it only a 7-6 game. Samantha Bliss tied the game at seven with an RBI single, and came around to score on an RBI single by Katie Blackburn that gave the Pride an 8-7 lead. Emily Pickett then helped her own cause with an RBI single up the middle that made it a 9-7 lead for Regis.
Pickett made the two run lead stand up as she worked her way out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning, stranded two runners on base in the sixth, and retired the side in order in the seventh to earn her fourth win of the season.
The Pride mashed out 14 hits in game two as six different Pride players registered two hits apiece, led by Donovan's 2-for-4 game with three RBI. Pickett picked up the win in relief, allowing no runs and only four hits over the last five innings with seven strikeouts.
Hayley McDonald suffered the loss in game two, giving up nine runs (eight earned) on 14 hits. Brianne Nichols went 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI to lead the offense, while Shelby Jones added a pair of hits.
The Crimson and Gold return to action tomorrow afternoon as they host former Commonwealth Coast Conference foe Gordon College in a non-conference doubleheader starting at 4:00 p.m. Southern Vermont travels to Lesley University on Saturday for a league doubleheader starting at 2:00 p.m.