WESTON, Mass. - The Regis College softball team continued its run through the New England Collegiate Conference Tournament with a 6-2 victory over No. 3 Mitchell College on Friday afternoon. The Pride fell to top-seeded Lesley University, 8-1, in the final game of the day. Regis and Mitchell will meet again tomorrow afternoon at 12:00 p.m. to see who faces the Lynx in the Championship game.
Game 5 - #7 Regis College 6, #3 Mitchell College 2
Katie Cuozzo (Lynn, Mass.) threw a complete game, allowing 11 hits and only two runs with five strikeouts to help lead the Pride to the victory over the Mariners. The sophomore also went 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBI and a run scored.
Regis scored three runs in the top of the third inning as Alyssa McKinnon (Raynham, Mass.) dropped a ball just inside the line in right field that caromed off the glove of Rivkah Berkman (New London, Conn.) and allowed Rachel DesRochers (Westford, Mass.) to score from first. McKinnon came around to score on a double by Cuozzo, and after she moved to third on a passed ball, Sam Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) stroked a single to right to plate Cuozzo.
Mitchell threatened in the fourth as Dylan Riccardi (Elmont, N.Y.) and Samantha Ryan (Quaker Hill, Conn.) walked to lead off the inning. Cuozzo quieted the rally, retiring the next three batters she faced, to keep it a 3-0 ballgame.
The Pride tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh as McKinnon drove in Jenna Casello (Westborough, Mass.) with an RBI single and then Cuozzo delivered a two run double down the line in left to score Kirbie Garvey (Littleton, Mass.) and Angelica Arredondo (Merrimac, Mass.).
Mitchell scored twice in the final inning as Shannon O'Neil (Chicopee, Mass.) had an RBI groundout and Emily Morenzoni (Waterford, Conn.) had an RBI single to make it 6-2. With runners on first and second with two outs, Cuozzo induced a pop up to second that ended the game and pushed the Pride into the winner's bracket of the tournament.
Sam Bliss and Alyssa McKinnon each went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while DesRochers had the only other hit for the Pride. Mitchell's 11 hits include four players with multi-hit games.
Game 7: #1 Lesley 8, #7 Regis College 1
In the final game of the day, Lesley out-hit Regis 15-2 as the Lynx moved on with a perfect 2-0 record on the day.
After the teams exchanged runs in the second, the Lynx jumped ahead in the third when junior Jodee Doka (Sacramento, Calif.) laced a double into the right-center gap allowing Carlyn Barker (Marietta, Calif.) and Allison Fountain (Cheshire, Conn.) to both score.
Lesley would add two more in the top of the fifth inning on a two-run double by senior Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.) before receiving a pair of RBI singles from Sarah Apgar (Andover, N.J.) and Fountain in the top of the sixth as the top-seeded Lynx grabbed a commanding 7-1 lead.
Lesley added one more in the top of the seventh inning when sophomore Angela Mukai (Amherst, N.H.) came around on a single by freshman Allyson Nisbet (Clovis, Calif.).
Sophomore starter Jordan Thomas (Fitchburg, Mass.) was excellent for the Lynx, allowing just two hits in the complete-game win. The lefty struck out two, walked one, and was charged with one run while facing just three batters over the minimum 21 for the game.
Barker and Mukai both registered a game-high three hits while Fountain, Mercurio, and Mekenzi Golden (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) each finished with two hits in the win.
For the Pride, Katie Cuozzo and Sam Bliss each finished 1-for-3 while Cuozzo scored the only run for Regis.