NEWTON, Mass. – Freshman Bethany Hector (Jaffrey, N.H.) delivered a go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning Saturday afternoon and Lasell College held on for a 5-4 victory over Simmons College in the second game of a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball doubleheader at Taylor Field. Simmons took the opener, 10-0, in five innings.

With the win in the nightcap, Lasell snapped a 15-game losing streak to Simmons, dating back to 2009, when the Lasers swept the Sharks in a doubleheader. With the outcome, Lasell moves to 5-17 overall and 4-6 in the GNAC, while Simmons is now 15-11 overall and 9-5 in conference play.

Hector went 3-6 on the afternoon with a double, while freshman Carly VanDeusen (North Haven, Conn.) rapped out three singles in six at-bats and scored a run. Sophomore Victoria Spellman (Rocky Hill, Conn.) knocked in a run with two hits in six at-bats and also scored for the home team.

Game 1 – Simmons 10, Lasell 0

Senior Juliet Nelson (Cumberland, R.I.) pitched a complete-game two-hitter for the Sharks without walking a batter and striking out two. It was her second shutout of the season as she improved to 10-4. The only hits she allowed were a second-inning double by Hector and a fifth-inning single by VanDeusen.

The Sharks scored all of the runs they would need with two in the first inning and one in the second. Sophomore Molly Hennessey (Charlton, Mass.) doubled home a run with one out to open the scoring, and came around to score on a Lasell error. Freshman Hailey Yabroudy (Amherst, N.H.) and freshman Marissa Santoro (Franklin, Mass.) singled to lead off the second inning, and Yabroudy came home on an infield ground out by freshman Sydney DeVogt (Exeter, N.H.)

Simmons blew the game open in the fourth inning with a seven-run explosion. Yabroudy opened the frame with a double and came around to score on a triple by Santoro to give the visitors a 4-0 margin. Freshman Hailey Yabroudy (Amherst, N.H.) plated Santoro with a single before freshman Ivy Vann (Bend, Ore.) struck the big blow of the inning with a three-run homer to give the Sharks an 8-0 advantage. Hennessey followed with a triple and scored on a groundout from sophomore Dom Ortiz (Lawrence, Mass.). Santoro later singled home the final run of the game for a 10-0 lead.

Game 2 – Lasell 5, Simmons 4

The Sharks got on the board first when Vann laced a one-out single and came around to score on a Hennessey double in the top of the first. The Lasers took their first lead of the day, taking advantage of a pair of errors to score two runs in the second inning. After they loaded the bases with no outs, senior Ashley Gatchell (Franklin, Mass.) brought home the first run with an RBI single and Arcese reached on fielder's choice to make it 2-1.

Simmons knotted the score at 2-2 with a run in the top of the third when Vann and Hennessey smacked back-to-back two-out doubles to score Vann with the second tying run. The Lasers doubled their score with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of two more errors, to take a 4-2 margin. Freshman Hailey Haskins (Franklin, N.H.) reached on an error with two outs, stole second and scored on a Spellman single. Sophomore Arianna Genovese (Rocky Hill, Conn.) followed with an RBI single of her own to deliver the fourth run for Lasell. 

The Sharks were able to pull even with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, before the Lasers took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore Bridget Garach (West Hartford, Conn.) reached on an error to open the fifth and scored on a Del Vacchio double, while Hennessey cracked a leadoff triple in the sixth and scored on an Ortiz sacrifice fly to make it 4-4.

Lasell came away with a 5-4 win with the decisive run in the bottom of the sixth. Spellman reached on a one-out single, before sophomore Bailey Burnett (Phillipston, Mass.) pinch ran for her and later scored on Hector's single. Simmons was unable to rally in the seventh as the home team hung on for the win to gain the split.

Haskins (4-6) earned the win for Lasell, scattering nine hits and giving up four runs (three earned) to go with three strikeouts.

Next Games

Both team's GNAC doubleheaders on Sunday, April 15, have been postponed due to inclement weather. The Lasers will return to action at Taylor Field on Tuesday, April 17, with a non-conference twin bill against Gordon College (3:00 p.m.) while Simmons will meet MIT in a non-conference pair on Wednesday, April 18, at 5:00 p.m.

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