BOSTON, Mass. - After holding an early lead in both games of Sunday's softball double-header with Lasell, the Emmanuel Saints were defeated in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action played at Rotch Park. The Lasers rallied from a 2-run deficit in the opener to take a 9-6 win and then overcame a 2-1 margin in game two for a 7-5 victory. With the wins, Lasell is now 14-9 overall and 7-1 in conference play, while the Saints dropped to 6-16 on the season and 3-9 in the GNAC.
The Saints jumped out to a 2-0 lead in game one, after a 3-hit first inning. Freshman third-baseman Chelsey Guselli (Methuen, Mass.) reached on a walk and classmate Elyse Turgeon (Dracut, Mass.) knocked her in with a single to put Emmanuel on the board, 1-0. After a subsequent single by junior shortstop Danielle Andruskiwec (Orange, Conn.), freshman designated player Ariana Liakos (Litchfield, N.H.) singled to score Turgeon and Emmanuel led 2-0 after an inning played.
The second inning was a scoreless one for the Saints, as Lasell's junior pitcher Jacqueline Losseff (Point Pleasant, NJ) struck out the side. The third inning proved to be disastrous for the hosts. A single and two errors loaded the bases for the Lasers, before senior shortstop Heather Rose (West Roxbury, Mass.) blasted a grand slam to put Lasell on top, 4-2. Freshman Jacqueline Saluti (Braintree, Mass.) scored on a passed ball for the Lasers' 5th run and sophomore left-fielder Michelle Torres (Waltham, Mass.) singled, scoring Tiffany Perla (Westminster, Mass.), who had reached on a single of her own. Two more strike-outs for Loseff and a ground out to the shortstop led to another scoreless inning for the Saints and Lasell led, 6-2, after three innings gone.
After two more Lasell runs in the fourth, the Saints rallied to score two in the bottom of the fifth. Junior center-fielder Sarah Palmer-Thompson (Dennis, Mass.) reached on her second walk of the day, before Andruskiwec smashed a two-run homer to bring the margin to 8-4.
An unearned run in the top of the fifth, before a 5-3-2 Emmanuel double-play, put the Lasers up, 9-4. The Saints wouldn't go down easy and tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman pitcher Jesse Hutchins (Sebago, Maine) relieved Kathryn Copp (Fremont, N.H.) in the fifth and picked up a two-out single of her own in the sixth. Junior right-fielder Kristina Borrelli (Kingston, Mass.) moved the runner, as she reached on a walk. Guselli singled to load the bases and Palmer-Thompson cracked a double that scored Hutchins and Borrelli.
Hutchins struck out the side for Emmanuel in the seventh, but the Saints' offense could not overcome the 3-run deficit and Lasell came away with the 9-6 win. Losseff struck out 12 Saints and her defense played error-free ball for the full seven innings. Copp took the loss for Emmanuel and Hutchins struck out four in her three innings pitched.
Game two featured an early Emmanuel lead as well. The Saints led 2-1 after four innings played. Emmanuel's first run came after a walk by Guselli and another RBI hit from Palmer-Thompson. Junior left-fielder Erin McSheffrey (Woburn, Mass.) unleashed a bomb to left field in the bottom of the fourth and recorded her second triple of the season. Freshman catcher Kristen Landers (Worcester, Mass.) knocked in McSheffrey for her 5th RBI of the year.
The Lasers scored four runs off of five hits in the fifth to take a 4-2 advantage. Two more runs in the sixth, which featured a two-RBI blast from Saluti, gave Lasell a 7-2 cushion. The Saints manufactured two more runs in the bottom of the frame to cut the margin to three, 7-4. McSheffrey singled and freshman pinch hitter Heath Hamel (Belchertown, Mass.) singled to open things up for the Saints. McSheffrey scored and Hamel advanced on a wild pitch. Freshman second-baseman Christina Proulx (Boxborough, Mass.) then singled to score Hamel.
After a Lasell hit from Torres in the 7th, the Saints easily retired the side with three-straight infield groundouts. Emmanuel managed one more run in the Saints' final scoring opportunity. Borrelli reached on her 12th hit of the season. Andruskiwec moved her into scoring position with a single and Liakos finished things off with her 4th RBI of the year, which scored Borrelli. The Lasers took game two, 7-5.
Article courtesy of Emmanuel Sports Information