BOSTON, Mass. – Simmons University swept both ends of a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball doubleheader from Lasell College Wednesday evening at Daly Field, winning the opener 11-0 in five innings before taking the nightcap, 11-6.
Simmons has won six games in a row to improve to 16-20 overall and 10-2 in the GNAC, while Lasell slips to 6-28 overall and 2-10 in conference games.
Lasell is scheduled for another GNAC doubleheader at Albertus Magnus College on Friday, April 26, weather permitting. The Lasers will play their final home games on Saturday, April 27, against Anna Maria College, beginning at noon. Simmons is slated to visit Norwich University for a GNAC twin bill on Friday, and return home to host the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) on Saturday.
Game 1 – Simmons 11, Lasell 0 (5 innings)
Freshman Maddie Castigliego (Bristol, R.I.) dominated the Lasers, allowing just one hit, a one-out infield single by sophomore Nicolette Genkos (Worcester, Mass.) in the second inning. She walked two and struck out four to improve her record to 8-5.
The Sharks scored one run in the second inning on an RBI single by sophomore Danielle Carson (Ashland, Mass.), and added three in the third inning on RBI singles by sophomore Marissa Santoro (Windham, Maine) and Castigliego and an RBI triple by freshman Alex Morang (Windham, Maine). Simmons put the game away with a seven-run rally in the fourth.
Carson went 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBI to lead the Sharks offense. Morang had two hits and knocked in three, while Santoro and Castigliego had two hits and two RBI apiece.
Game 2 – Simmons 11, Lasell 6
The Laser offense came alive in the first inning, scoring three runs on four hits, all with two outs. After senior Victoria Spellman (Rocky Hill, Conn.) singled to right, junior Arianna Genovese (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and freshman Hailey Haskins (Franklin, N.H.) hit back-to-back RBI doubles to center. Sophomore Alexis Truesdale (Wakefield, Mass.) capped the rally with an RBI single.
A four-run second-inning rally gave Simmons the lead, but Lasell answered with a run in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly by Truesdale to tie the score at 4-4. The Lasers regained the lead with two more in the fourth inning on RBI singles by Genovese and Haskins.
The lead didn't last long as Simmons plated three runs in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double by Carson and run-scoring singles by junior Lauren Del Vacchio (Murrieta, Calif.) and sophomore Ivy Vann (Bend, Ore.). The Sharks tacked on four more runs in the fifth inning when freshman Shannon McMahon (El Cajon, Calif.) cracked a two-run double to right center, Morang knocked in a run with an infield grounder, and Carson added with an RBI double.
Genovese finished with three hits and two RBI for the Lasers, while Haskins and Truesdale had two hits and two RBI apiece. Carson had three hits and four RBI for Simmons, while McMahon and freshman Allie Mulhern (Westford, Mass.) had two hits each.
-- 30 --