WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College softball team split their doubleheader against the Dean College Bulldogs on Tuesday evening, winning game one 8-4 before dropping game two 9-2.
Regis 8, Dean 4
In game one, Brianna Napoleone (Medford, Mass.) had two hits in the game, one of them a double, and would come around to score twice. Nikki Papadopoulos (Coventry, Conn.) would bring in two runs, while Sarah Fawcett (Londonderry, N.H.) and Allie Petillo (West Sayville, N.Y.) also collected RBIs on the night. Madi McLellan (Fremont, N.H.), in her second start of the year, struck out three batters in 6.1 innings of work.
In the top of the second inning, Dean's Ali Nelson pulled a pitch over the left field wall giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs expanded on their lead after Miranda Seacord hit a two-run homerun over the fence in the top of the third inning.
After being kept off the scoreboard for three innings, the Pride's bats erupted to life in the fourth. After walks by both Fawcett and Erin Murphy (Bedford, N.H.), Napoleone would double to left field bringing in Fawcett and putting Murphy at third base.
A Morgan LeBaron (Rehoboth, Mass.) walk brought Papadopoulos up to the plate, and she found the right-center field gap for a single to bring in two. Petillo followed up with a single of her own for LeBaron to cross the plate. Regis scored six runs in the inning and held a 6-3 advantage.
The Pride brought in two more runs in the fifth to expand their lead to five. In the seventh, Seacord singled up the middle to bring in the final run of the game for the Bulldogs.
Dean 9, Regis 2
The Bulldogs' Shelby Smith pitched a complete game, giving up only one earned run to hold off the Pride in game two. Dean's Melanie Rios-Nevarez and Bridget McDonough both had multi-hit games.
Petillo, Fawcett, Murphy, and Ellery Rasmussen (Kingston, N.H.) all registered hits for the Pride. Freshman Alyssa Ward (Webster, Mass.) pitched 6.2 innings, striking out seven while walking only three.
Dean scored in the top of the first after Seacord advanced to third, Madisyn Butler popped up to the second basemen, who was unable to throw Seacord out at the plate.
The score would remain 1-0 until the fourth when Courtney Holden brought in Rios-Nevarez from third. In the bottom half of the inning, as Napoleone connected with a sacrifice bunt that gave Rasmussen time to cross home plate, making it a 2-1 game.
The top of the sixth would see Dean bring in two more runs after an error by the right fielder allowed for the runners on first and second base to come around and score. After Dean scored five in the top of the seventh inning, Regis was only able to bring in one run in the bottom of the inning.
Dean (4-14, 0-0 NECC) will play Newbury on Saturday, Apr. 6 in their first conference doubleheader of the year.
Regis (3-13, 0-0 GNAC) plays at Simmons on Saturday, Apr. 6 in a doubleheader that kicks off conference play starting at 12 p.m. They will then play the following day in a divisional doubleheader against St. Joseph (Conn.) on Sunday, Apr. 7 at 1 p.m.