Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BOSTON – Senior Kelsey Souza (Braintree, Mass.) stroke a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eight inning to deliver a 3-2 win for the UMass Boston Beacons in the second game of a Little East Conference softball doubleheader to earn the sweep over the University of Southern Maine Huskies Wednesday afternoon at the UMB Softball Field in Boston. The Beacons took the first game from the Huskies 6-1.
With the sweep, UMass Boston improves to 13-23 overall and 4-8 in the Little East Conference. The Huskies fall to 7-31 overall and 2-10 in the conference with the loss.
Trailing 1-0 entering the top of the fourth inning, Southern Maine leapt ahead of UMB grabbing a 2-1 lead following a two-run homerun to left-center field by senior Jessica Hayden (Madison, Maine). Hayden's homerun, her second of the season, drove in senior Stefanie Stockwell (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle). Stockwell led off the inning with a single to center field.
The Beacons answered back in the home-half of the inning with an RBI from junior Lyndsey Capra (Lowell, Mass.) to score Souza. Souza knocked a one-out single up the middle and then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt to set up the game-tying run.
After the fourth inning, both pitchers held their opponents scoreless, setting up the extra innings. The Huskies' had a solid chance in the top of the eighth when Stockwell doubled to left field and then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. But the Beacons' sophomore pitcher Michelle Zullo (Everett, Mass.) was able to get the final two out and retire the side to bring up the UMB bats in the bottom of the inning.
In the Beacons' half of the eighth, senior Taryn Asta (Marshfield, Mass.) led off the inning with a single before Stockwell get the next two outs on a sacrifice bunt and a fly out. With two down, Souza collected her third hit of the game to plate the game-winner.
Zullo earned her sixth win of the season giving up two earned runs on six hits and a walk over eight innings. She had eight strikeouts. Stockwell took the loss despite a strong pitching effort. She allowed three earned runs on 10 hits and one walk in 7.2 innings. She had four strikeouts.
In the opener, senior Sue Killiea (Abington, Mass./Archbishop Williams) was 1-for-4 at the plate with a triple and two RBI to lead the Beacons to a 6-1 win. Despite collecting just four hits in the game, the Beacons were able to score six runs while taking advantage of five Huskies' fielding errors.
After taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, following a lead-off triple from Killiea and an RBI ground out from Asta, UMB took control of the game in the bottom of the second with three runs – all unearned – to take a 4-0 lead. The Huskies made three of their five errors in the costly inning.
UMB added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to lead USM 6-0, before the Huskies took one run back in the top of the fifth with an RBI single from sophomore Lindsey Somerset (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle). However, it was too little too late as UMB rolled to the win.
Freshman Emily Gray (New Bedford, Mass.) earned the win for the Beacons allowing one earned run on four hits and a walk. Senior Jessie Hutchins (Sebago, Maine/Lake Region) allowed one earned run on four hits and a walk.
Southern Maine hosts UMass Dartmouth on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) in a Little East Conference doubleheader on Senior Day. UMass Boston hosts Salem State on Thursday (3:30 p.m.) in a non-conference doubleheader.
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