LEICESTER, Mass. - The Regis College softball team nearly handed Becker its first conference losses but surrendered late leads including a game two walk-off homerun in a New England Collegiate Conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.
The Hawks took game one 9-2, before walking off with a dramatic 10-7 victory in game two. The sweep lifted the Hawks' record to 23-9 (16-0 NECC), while the Pride, who had already secured the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in next weeks' NECC Tournament, fall to 16-12 (11-7 NECC).
Game 1
Becker took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a Jennifer VanAlphen (Hudson, N.Y.) solo homerun over the left field fence.
The Pride responded in the top of the fourth when Alyssa McKinnon (Rowley, Mass.) belted a two-run homerun to left, putting the visitors in front 2-1.
The score remained the same until the bottom of the fifth when Becker plated three runs. Rebecca Carkhuff (Amherst, Mass.) led off the inning with a double. After a sacrifice bunt moved Carkhuff to third, Jaclyn Orangio (Maynard, Mass.) made her way to second on fielder's choice and an error, putting two runners in scoring position. The Pride elected to intentionally walk VanAlphen to load the bases. Senior Jessica Wheelahan promptly cleared the bases with a double into the right centerfield gap to give the Hawks a 4-2 lead.
Becker put the game out of reach with five runs in the top of the sixth to capture the 9-2 victory. Senior Kelsey Norberg (Uxbridge, Mass.) improved her record to 14-3 on the year after allowing two runs (zero earned) in a complete game effort.
Katie Cuozzo (Lynn, Mass.) suffered the loss for the pride.
Game 2
Becker jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Jaclyn Orangio got the inning started with a leadoff single. After Jennifer VanAlphen followed with a double to left, Megan Klemanchuck plated Orangio with a groundout to short. Samantha Lee (Prospect, Conn.) kept the line moving with single. After Lee moved into scoring position with a theft of second, Brianna Herforth (Peru, Mass.) capped off the inning with a two-run single to left.
VanAlphen increased the Hawks lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the second with a two run blast to centerfield.
The Pride got on the board in the top of the third when Kirbie Garvey (Littleton, Mass.) belted a solo blast to center.
Regis came roaring back in the top of the fourth when the Hawks committed an uncharacteristic four errors, leading six runs for the Pride.
With the Hawks trailing 7-5, VanAlphen led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo shot over the left centerfield fence. After Klemanchuck earned a walk, Lee would reach on a misplayed pop up to the outfield. With two outs in the inning, Ashley Ciepiela (Adams, Mass.) tied game at 7-7 with a single through the left side of the infield. Rebecca Carkhuff then sent Russell field into a frenzy when she smashed a walk-off homerun over the centerfield fence.
Lee earned the win for the Hawks after allowing three earned runs, while Lisa Lusardi (Enfield, Conn.) took the loss for the Pride.
With the regular season behind them, the Pride now set their sights on the NECC Championship Tournament and a matchup with No. 5 seed Mitchell Tuesday, April 26 at Regis Field. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m.
Release Courtesy of Becker Sports Information