NEWTON, Mass. – Lasell College and the University of Maine Farmington split a non-conference softball doubleheader Friday afternoon at Taylor Field, the host Lasers taking the opener 5-3, and the visiting Beavers winning the nightcap, 9-1.
The Lasers used a four-run rally in the first game to break a scoreless tie and held off a seventh-inning rally by the Beavers. UMF went ahead 8-0 in the nightcap with two runs in the first inning, one in the third and five in the fourth. The split leaves Lasell with a 6-24 overall record while Farmington is now 9-14.
Lasell's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader at Simmons University on Saturday, April 20, has been postponed, so the Lasers will return to action on Tuesday, April 23, with a non-conference make-up doubleheader at Gordon College. UMF plays again this Sunday, April 21, against UMaine Presque Isle at Lewiston High School.
Game 1 – Lasell 5, UMF 3
After four scoreless innings, Lasell put up four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. One run scored on a UMF error, junior Arianna Genovese (Rocky Hill, Conn.) delivered a two-run single and freshman Brianna Gendreau (Warren, R.I.) added an RBI single. The Lasers tacked on another run in the fifth on an RBI single by sophomore Alexis Truesdale (Wakefield, Mass.).
The Beavers mounted a comeback in the seventh inning when freshman Makayla Wilson (Belgrade, Maine) and sophomore Leah Stevens (Ellsworth, Maine) singled and junior Alyssa Dillan (Plymouth, Mass.) hit a three-run homer to right field.
Gendreau and Nicolette Genkos (Worcester, Mass.) had two hits apiece for Lasell, while Stevens and sophomore Hope Faulkingham (West Bath, Maine) had three hits for UMF and Wilson and sophomore Callie Hammer (Ellsworth, Maine) had two hits each.
Sophomore Hailey Haskins (Franklin, N.H.) earned the win for Lasell with a complete-game effort, striking out three.
Game 2 – UMF 9, Lasell 1
Wilson and Stevens set the table again for UMF with singles in the first inning. Wilson came around to score on a Lasell error, and Stevens scored on a sacrifice fly by Kayleigh Oberg (Winthrop, Maine). The Beavers scored again in the third when Stevens singled, went to second on a walk and came home on Dillan's single up the middle.
The visitors blew the game open with a five-run fourth inning. Freshman Bailey Robbins (Winslow, Maine) smacked a two-run double to left field, Dillan singled home a run, and Oberg blasted a two-run home run to right center field.
Lasell scored its only run in the fifth inning when sophomore Sarah Walton (Poland, Maine) singled, went to third on a pair of wild pitches, and scored on a single by classmate Bethany Hector (Jaffrey, N.H.). Hector collected two hits for the Lasers.
Dillan finished with three hits and three RBI for UMF, while Oberg also had three RBI. Stevens and freshman Broghan Gagnon (Winslow, Maine) had two hits apiece, including a double by Gagnon. Junior Brianna McGrath (Lyman, N.H.) earned the win, allowing just one run on seven hits, fanning three.
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