WESTON, Mass. – A solid pitching performance by Madi McLellan (Fremont, N.H.) combined with timely hitting gave Regis College its first conference win of the season, 3-2, but Rivier University used the same combination of pitching and hitting to win game two, 4-1, splitting Friday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference softball doubleheader at the Regis Softball Field.
Game One: Regis 3, Rivier 2
McLellan allowed nine hits, one walk, and two runs in her complete game victory. She threw exactly 100 pitches, 74 of them for strikes, as she finished with a season-high 10 strikeouts, equaling her total from the entire season entering the game.
Regis struck first in the bottom of the first inning when Kelsey Grimard (Pelham, N.H.) hit a one-out single and came around to score on a double by Ellery Rasmussen (Kingston, N.H.). The same twosome produced the Pride's second run, as Grimard doubled and scored on a Rasmussen single in the third inning.
In the top of the sixth inning, Hunter Greenleaf led off the a single, and then Taylor Rowsell followed with a double to put runners on second and third. Mikayla Ramsdell hit a single to center field, scoring pinch runners Micayla Bourski and Katie Welch to tie the game at 2-2. Ramsdell stole second and advanced to third on a groundout, but was stranded there as McLellan induced a flyout to end the inning.
Morgan LeBaron (Rehoboth, Mass.) led off the bottom of the sixth with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Nikki Papadopoulos (Coventry, Conn.), but she was tagged out after being caught between third and home on a bunt by Emma Kelly (Lynnfield, Mass.). Allie Petillo (West Sayville, N.Y.) came through with a two-out double to right-center field, driving in Kelly with the go-ahead run.
Sarah McCluskey drew a walk to lead off the top of the seventh inning, but she was thrown out attempting to steal second base by Papadopoulos. McLellan induced a popout before ending the game with her 10th strikeout to clinch Regis' first GNAC win of 2019.
Rasmussen led the Pride offense with a 3-for-3 performance, while Grimard and Brianna Napoleone (Medford, Mass.) earned two hits apiece. Ramsdell went 3-for-3 to lead the Raiders, with Kasey Smith going 3-for-4 at the top of the batting order. Courtney Trahan took the loss for Rivier, allowing 10 hits and three runs in 5 2/3 innings of work.
Game Two: Rivier 4, Regis 1
Rivier (5-15, 1-5 GNAC) jumped on the board in the first inning when Smith led off with a double, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Ramsdell. In the third inning, Smith reached base on a bunt single, stole second, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Julia Dailey, and scored on a single by Ramsdell.
Raider starting pitcher Kellie Kennedy retired the first nine Regis batters before Petillo led off the fourth inning with a single. After she advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Grimard, Petillo scored on a double to center field by Rasmussen.
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Ramsdell sent a shot into the right-center field gap for a double and scored on a Pride error off a grounder hit by Rowsell to the left side. Greenleaf followed with a single to center field that brought in pinch runner Welch, increasing the Raider advantage to 4-1.
Erin Murphy (Bedford, N.H.) led off the bottom of the fifth with a double to right-center field and advanced to third on a groundout, but she was not able to score. Kennedy retired eight of the last nine Regis batters in order to preserve Rivier's first conference win of the season.
Rasmussen earned two of Regis' four hits in the game, as Kennedy struck out six Pride batters during her complete game victory as she threw 86 pitches, 61 of them for strikes. Alyssa Ward (Webster, Mass.) took the loss, giving up seven hits and four runs, two of them unearned, in 4 2/3 innings of work before Nicole Tebo (Kingston, N.H.) took over and pitched 2 1/3 innings of two-hit relief.
Smith, Ramsdell, and Kennedy each collected two hits as the Raiders finished with nine hits for the second straight game. Rivier heads to Standish, Maine, to face Saint Joseph's College Saturday, April 13, in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
Regis (4-18, 1-5 GNAC) hosts Emmanuel College Saturday, April 13, in a GNAC doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. It is One Love Day for the Pride, as they raise awareness about healthy and unhealthy relationships on college campuses in part by walking a lap on the track between games to collect Yards for Yeardley.