NASHUA, N.H. (4/20/17) – The Lasell softball team dropped two Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contests to Rivier University on Wednesday evening at Raider Diamond. The Raiders downed the Lasers 7-1 in the first game, and 8-2 in the nightcap, in a shortened game due to heavy rain.

Game One – Rivier: 7 Lasell: 1

The Lasers strung together six hits in the evening opener, two coming off the bat of senior Erin Smith (Gorham, Maine). Smith scored the Lasers' lone run of the game, while Victoria Spellman (Rocky Hill, Conn.), Laura MacLeod (Old Saybrook, Conn.), Arianna Genovese (Rocky Hill, Conn.), and Mickayla Cobb (Middleboro, Mass.) all reached base on a single hit.

Jessica Cote (Nashua, N.H.) paced the Raider offense going a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate with an RBI and a run scored. Cote was one of two Raiders to swing into an extra base hit on a triple, joining Mikayla Ramsdell (Salem, N.H.) who roped a double on one of her two hits on the day.

The Lasers were first to score in the first inning on a two-out single to right from MacLeod, scoring Smith on the play who reached first on an infield single. The Raiders would not allow Lasell to plate another run throughout the game's remainder, tacking on runs of their own in all innings but the first. In the stretch, Rivier pitcher Kendall Stanton (Rochester, N.H.) struck out four Lasers, walking just one with six hits and a single earned run, to improve to 4-5 on the year. Freshman Nicole Arcese (Holliston, Mass.) suffered the loss on the hill, allowing 11 Raider hits, seven earned runs and two walks, while striking out four.   

Game Two – Rivier: 8 Lasell: 2

In the shortened nightcap, Spellman led Lasell with two hits and a run scored, while Smith and Genovese accounted for the last of Lasell's four hits. Genovese swung into a double in the effort, her sixth of the season, and recorded Lasell's only RBI.

Rivier continued a strong performance at the plate to seal the sweep, cracking 10 hits, five of them doubles. Cote and Courtney Trahan (Brooklyn, Conn.) each had two doubles and three hits on the day, as Trahan's final at bat scored three runners, factoring into her five total RBI. Taylor Rowsell (Chelmsford, Mass.) beamed a leadoff homer in the bottom of the third inning, her third shot of the season.

Again, Smith and the Lasers started off strong in the top of the first, as the senior cracked a leadoff single to left, stole second, and came around to score on a Rivier miscue before Spellman's at bat. Rivier answered with a four-hit, two run second inning, in part to Trahan's bases loaded single to left. Krysel Enko (Haydenville, Mass.) recorded the Lasers' first out on a strike out, before Destiny Jordan (Lawrence, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Ramsdell on the play.

With two outs in the top of the third, Spellman poked a base knock to center, before Genovese swung into a double, plating Spellman for the 2-2 score. The Raiders immediately responded with Rowsell's homer, followed by a Trahan double, and her eventual triple in the bottom of the fourth to give Rivier the result, 8-2.

Enko pitched all 4.0 innings in the shortened game, allowing eight earned runs while striking out three batters. Trahan added to her impact day at the plate with a strong performance on the mound, striking out five batters with just one earned run.

The Lasers have a quick turnaround, as they host crosstown GNAC foe Mount Ida College on Friday, April 21 for a doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m. Rivier travels to Hartford, Conn. for their next contest, a GNAC twinbill against the University of Saint Joseph's for a 12:00 p.m. start time.