WESTON, Mass. – Regis College split a New England Collegiate Conference softball doubleheader with Newbury College on a cold and windy night Monday night in Weston, Mass. The Pride (10-20, 6-8 NECC) dropped game one to the Nighthawks (17-16, 11-5 NECC) by a score of 7-1, but rallied late in game two to come out on top 11-10 in the nightcap.
After a quiet two innings to open game one, Newbury finally broke through in the top of the third, plating three runs and taking a 3-0 lead. Michaela McGowan (Nashua, N.H.) doubled home Sheri Liggiero (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Alyssa Donovan (West Haven, Conn.) came around to score on a passed ball for Newbury's second run. The Nighthawks pushed across their third run of the inning as McGowan scooted home from third on a fielder's choice.
The Nighthawks tacked on two more runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to complete their half of the scoring. Two runs came home in the fourth on a throwing error by the Pride, and Alyssa Donovan had a two-run single in the top of the fifth for the Nighthawks' seventh run of the contest. Haley Fountain (Warren, Mass.) drove in Alyssa McKinnon (Raynham, Mass.) for the lone run of the game for the home team as Newbury's Rebecca Roach (Charlton, Mass.) scattered just four hits over seven innings of work en route to the 7-1 victory.
Fountain went 2-for-2 at the plate with the lone RBI, while McKinnon and Jill Bruning (Medford, Mass.) added the other two hits for Regis. Katie Cuozzo (Lynn, Mass.) suffered the setback, allowing seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits in five innings. Emily Pickett (Wrentham, Mass.) pitched the final two innings, not allowing a hit while striking out a pair.
Sheri Liggiero and Alyssa Donovan combined to go 4-for-6 in game one with two RBI and three runs scored between them. Rebecca Roach added a 3-for-4 day with an RBI, while striking out six and picking up her ninth win of the season.
In game two, Newbury came out the aggressor again as they put up four runs in the top of the first off Emily Pickett. Michaela McGowan and Taylor Foley (East Setauket, N.Y.) had RBI singles for Newbury, while Amber Rapchun (Corona, Calif.) smoked a double down the rightfield line to plate two and put Newbury on top 4-0.
The Pride responded with two runs of their own in their half of the first as Raegan Heck (Phillipston, Mass.) had an RBI single to rightfield and Jill Bruning added an RBI single through the right side to make it a 4-2 game. Both offenses stalled in the second and third innings, until the Pride broke through with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs in the inning, Shannon Simonelli (Providence, R.I.) hit a single that put runners on first and second, and Kirbie Garvey (Littleton, Mass.) stroked an RBI single to right center to plate Michaela NeJaime (Sandisfield, Mass.) and put runners on the corners and make it a 4-3 game. Samantha Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) hit a flare over the second baseman's head to score Simonelli and tie the game at 4-4. The Pride then took advantage of a Newbury error to add its final two runs of the inning and take a 6-4 lead.
The two run advantage would be short-lived as Newbury tied it up in the top of the fifth, scoring a run on a Pride error and an RBI double from McGowan. McGowan kept the Pride off the board in the bottom of the fifth, retiring the side in order, and gave Newbury a chance to regain the lead in their half of the sixth. The Nighthawks would push three runs across the plate in the top of the sixth to take a 9-6 lead. Katie Haney (Winchendon, Mass.) had an RBI single in the inning, and Donovan later added a two-run single through the left side to give Newbury the three-run lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Simonelli started the rally by leading off the inning with her third hit of the day. Garvey followed with a single down the line in right to put runners on the corners, and Simonelli beat the throw home on a fielder's choice from Bliss to make it a 9-7 game. After the second out of the inning and with runners on second and third, Haley Fountain hit a two-run single in to the gap in right-center to tie the game at 9-9. Raegan Heck followed with a run-scoring single, and the Pride took an 11-9 lead on an RBI single by Jill Bruning.
The Pride did not make it easy on themselves in closing out the game as Fountain walked the first two batters she faced in the top of the seventh. Amber Rapchun grounded out to second base, moving the runners into scoring position, and Rebecca Roach hit a ball off Fountain that dropped for a hit and made it an 11-10 game with two runners on. Fountain responded by striking out the final two batters of the inning, helping lead the Pride to the twinbill split.
Shannon Simonelli and Jill Bruning each had three-hit days for the Pride with Simonelli scoring twice and Bruning driving in a pair. Kirbie Garvey went 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored, while Raegan Heck was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Haley Fountain picked up the win, pitching the final six innings and allowing six runs (one earned) on seven hits with seven strikeouts.
Sheri Liggiero, Alyssa Donovan, and Michaela McGowan each went 2-for-4 in the nightcap as Donovan and McGowan drove in two runs apiece. Amber Rapchun also went 2-for-4 with two RBI. McGowan fell to 8-9 on the year while allowing 11 runs (9 earned) on 14 hits in six innings of work.
The Pride return to action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Southern Vermont College for a NECC doubleheader scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The Nighthawks travel to Elms College on Saturday as well, for a doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m.