Newton, Mass. (3/29/13) – The Lasell softball team returned from Myrtle Beach, S.C. to open conference play at Taylor Field with a doubleheader as they took on Mount Ida College. The Lasers and Mustangs split the two game affair with Lasell taking the first game 7-5, while the Mount Ida claimed game two, 6-3. Lasell's record on the year is now 4-8, while they stand 1-1 in the conference, while Ida goes to 4-7 overall and 1-3 in the GNAC.
Game 1
Michaelea Grady (Worcester, Mass.) led the offensive attack for Lasell as she went 2-3 with four RBIs, with two home runs, and two runs scored. Nicole LeBlanc (Easton, Mass.) followed with a 2-3 performance with a double, scoring twice. Alison Saluti (Braintree, Mass.) went the full seven innings, allowing five runs, four earned on 11 hits and striking out a pair to earn the win.
Devan Meeker (Bantam, Conn.) finished 2-4 with two RBIs, two doubles and a run scored, while freshman Cassie Durand (Dracut, Mass.) also knocked in two run for the Mustangs, going 1-4 with a home run. Allie Norris (Plymouth, Mass.) started on the mound for the Mustangs, hurling four innings, with two strikeouts giving up five runs only two earned on six hits. Meeker would come in for a two-inning relief stint, where she gave up two runs on three hits with one strikeout.
The Mustangs took a 1-0 lead when Meeker led off with a double, and advanced to third on a single by Nickole Soto (Marlboro, Mass.) before scoring on a passed ball in the top of the first.
Nicole Leblanc would start the bottom of the fourth for Lasers with a single, which allowed Michaelea Grady to give the host the lead as she hit a two run home to make it 2-1. Emily DeAngelis (Shelton, Conn.) reached on an error, and Erin Larghi (Wakefield, R.I.) singled and both would score on an error off the bat off Santina Antoshak (Closter, N.J.) who was able to safely reach second. An RBI single by Courtney Moen (Brookfield, Mass.) allowed Antoshak to score making it 5-1 in favor of Lasell.
The Lasers would increase their lead to 7-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Grady launched her second two-run home run on the afternoon over the centerfield fence.
Mount Ida would answer back in the top half of the sixth as senior Meghan Moriarty (Holbrook, Mass.) and sophomore Gina Onorevole (Lafayette, N.J.) would score on a two out double from Meeker to make it 7-3.
A single by Kaitlyn Berube (Fall River, Mass.) would start the top of the 7th for the Mustangs with Durand coming to bat. Durand found a pitch she liked and knocked it over the outfield fence for a two-run home to make it 7-5, but that was the end the Mustangs rally as Saluti recorded the final two outs and giving Lasell the victory.
Game 2
Centerfielder Santina Antoshak went 2-3 while scoring a run. Denise Archetto (Cranston, R.I.) and Nicole Leblanc were each credited with a run batted-in while also going 1-4 in the contest. Elieen Bergin (Arlington, Mass.) was credited with the loss after allowing six runs on nine hits, recording six strikeouts in her five innings of work. Samantha Whynot (Randolph, Mass.) made a two-inning relief appearance giving up no hits or runs and striking out one.
Kirsten Guerrero (Fairfield, Conn.) led the way for the Mustangs with a 3-4 performance at the plate, and was a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Kaitlyn Berube also contributed by going 2-4 with an RBI and scoring twice, while Cassie Durand also went 2-4 with a run batted-in with one run scored. Junior Devan Meeker went the distance to get the win as she rung up six strikeouts and only allowed three runs on seven hits with three walks.
As they had in the first game, Ida would get on the board first thanks to an RBI single from Berube, which allowed Guerrero to score after hitting a double to left field. Then a single by Tiffany Hamann (Newton, Mass.) would push Berube across the plate to make it 2-0 after two innings.
A solo shot by Nickole Soto (Marlboro, Mass.) at the top half of the third would make it 3-0 Mustangs.
The top of the fifth-inning saw the Mustangs increase their lead to 6-0 after a solo home run by Guerrero, and an RBI-triple by Durand who eventually scored herself as a result of the an error.
Lasell would pull two runs back as Whynot and Antoshak would score for the Lasers to make it 6-2 after five-innings. Whynot scored on an Archetto single, and Antoshak scored on an RBI single credited to LeBlanc.
Lasell brought the score to 6-3 when Larghi singled, advanced to second on a passed ball and later scored on an error. Lasell was unable to claw any closer in the seventh and fell 6-3.
Both teams will resume GNAC action at noon on Saturday, March 30. The Mustangs will face Emerson in a double-header at Rotch Field in Boston, while Lasell goes to and Saint Joseph's (Maine) are scheduled to faceoff in double-header action.