Cape Coral, FL- In the final day of competition at the Gene Cusic Classic in Cape Coral, Florida the Lasell College softball team dropped a pair of games against out-of-region squads to finish the week 0-10. Lasell fell in the early game, 5-3, against Richard Stockton and then dropped the nightcap, 12-3, against Washington College.
Stockton came out 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning but Lasell responded with three runs in the third. Kerrie Starkey (Keene, NH) walked to set up the first run which was brought in by Rachel Haas (Middleton, MA), unearned after an error on the Ospreys third baseman. Talia DeChiara (Kingston, MA) sent the second run around the bags on a fielder's choice which scored Santina Antoshak (Closter, NJ). Haas scored the final run for the Lasers on a Candace Hankard (Wakefield, MA) single.
Lasell held a 3-2 lead through the fifth inning when the Ospreys plated three more runs to take the lead and win the game.
Haas was 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI in the game while Hankard, Starkey, Michelle Torres (Waltham, MA), and Jacqueline Saluti (Braintree, MA) each notched one hit.
Alison Saluti (Braintree, MA) was hit with the loss on the mound, striking out six Richard Stockton athletes and allowing just two earned runs on six hits.
Against Washington College, the Lasers faced an early deficit of seven runs through the fourth inning. Lasell started scoring in the bottom of the fifth when, down 9-0, the Lasers put three runners through home plate to keep the game alive.
Jacqueline Saluti reached first on a fielding error and Starkey singled through the left side to push Saluti to second. Kelly Silvia (Oak Bluffs, MA) got to first after another Washington error and Antoshak earned the RBI sending Saluti home.
A sacrifice fly by DeChiara ran in Starkey and a Hankard base hit to the shortstop plated Silvia, bringing the score to 9-3.
An additional three runs by Washington in the sixth ended the game just shy one inning, 12-3.
Starkey went 2-for-3 with one run in the game while Ashley Laramie (Lynn, MA), Hankard, and Antoshak hit 1-for-3 in the game. Antoshak, DeChiara, and Hankard added one RBI each.
Pitcher Alyson Bermudez (Londonderry, NH) struck out two Washington batters in four innings of relief work for Lasell.
The Lasers return home to begin Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) competition on Saturday, March 26th at Suffolk University. The doubleheader will begin at noon.