Newton, Mass. – The Lasell College softball team split a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference games against visiting Emmanuel College. The Lasers came out in the short end of a 2-1 defeat in the opener, before coming back to earn a 7-3 victory in the second game of the doubleheader. Lasell is 10-24 overall and 9-11 in conference play, while Emmanuel moved to 7-26 on the season and 4-16 in league contests.
Game One: Emmanuel opened the scoring in the first inning, getting a leadoff single from Julia Levins (Uxbridge, Mass.) followed by an RBI double from Julia Demirali (West Roxbury, Mass.) to put the Saints ahead 1-0.
Lasell stranded a pair of runners in the bottom of the first inning, and had runners on base in each of the first three innings but were unable to push any runs across the plate. Emmanuel also struggled to generate any offense through the fifth inning as Alison Saluti (Braintree, Mass.) held them to two hits in the four inning span.
Emmanuel tacked on an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning, courtesy of a Kayla Howard RBI double, to take a 2-0 lead. The Lasers failed to score in the bottom of the sixth and Emmanuel was held in check going in the top of the seventh, leaving Lasell facing a two-run deficit going into their last at-bat.
Lasell opened the bottom of the seventh with a single by Jacqui Saluti (Braintree, Mass.) and a double by Denise Archetto (Cranston, R.I.), giving them runners on second and third with nobody out. Candace Hankard (Wakefield, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice, but Courtney Moen (Brookfield, Mass.), who pinch ran for Saluti, was cut down at the plate for the first out of the inning. After a groundout moved Hankard to second base, the Lasers again had runners on second and third, this time with two outs. After Rachelle Haas (Middleton, Mass.) walked to load the bases, pinch hitter Michaela Grady (Worcester, Mass.) also drew a free pass, forcing in a run and cutting the Lasell deficit to 2-1. Kelly Lloyd (Issaquah, Wash.) was able to escape the bases loaded jam by inducing a game ending pop-out.
Lloyd earned the win, going seven innings, while allowing 5 hits. Alison Saluti went the distance for Lasell, giving up five hits and two runs while striking out four.
Game Two: The Lasers responded in the second game, scoring a run in the first inning and then exploding for five runs in the second inning to build an early 6-0 lead for starter Cassie Wadden (Brookfield, Mass.). Talia DeChiara (Kingston, Mass.) and Mary Fontaine (Nashua, N.H.) each drove in two runs during the inning.
Emmanuel got on the board with a run in the fifth, but the Lasers responded with a run of their own to keep a six run cushion at 7-1. Emmanuel staged a two-out rally in the seventh, scoring a pair of runs but were unable to sustain their push, falling 7-3.
Cassie Wadden allowed seven hits and three runs while picking up the victory for Lasell. Julia Levins gave the Saints a strong performance on the slab, throwing 4 and a third innings in relief, while scattering six hits and striking out seven.