PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Lasell University softball team suffered its first two losses of the season Saturday afternoon, falling to Johnson & Wales University, 5-2 and 16-7 (5 innings), in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) battle of unbeatens at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletics Complex Softball Field.
Lasell drops to 8-2 overall and 2-2 in the GNAC while JWU remains undefeated at 12-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play. The two teams will play again on Wednesday, April 14, at Lasell, beginning at 3 p.m.
The Lasers will play on Sunday, April 11, in an exhibition doubleheader at noon at GNAC rival Regis College, which is only playing exhibition games this spring due to the pandemic. JWU will plan Sunday at Brown University, beginning at noon.
Game 1: Johnson & Wales 5, Lasell 2
The Wildcats took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, thanks to a double steal, an RBI single by senior Jill Pulek (Cheshire, Conn.) and two Laser infield errors. The scored stayed that way until JWU tacked on two unearned runs on one hit in the fifth inning following two more Laser errors.
Lasell got on the board with its two runs in the sixth inning after loading the bases with no outs on walks to freshmen Ally Kirck (Hamden, Conn.) and Eryn Sheeley (North Haven, Conn.) sandwiched around a single by junior Brianna Gendreau (Warren, R.I.) Kirck scored on an infield ground out and Gendreau came home on a single by freshman Katie Hopkins (New Hyde Park, N.Y.).
Junior Summer Ramundo (Lincoln Park, N.J.) earned the win with five innings of work, allowing two runs on two hits and six walks, striking out nine. Freshman Sage Borkowski (Oxford, Conn.) earned a save with two innings of scoreless work, fanning two. Sheeley suffered the loss for Lasell, despite allowing just one earned run and six hits in six innings, striking out five.
Game 2: Johnson & Wales 16, Lasell 7 (5 innings)
The highlight of the game for Lasell was a pair of solo home runs by Hopkins, who finished the game 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI. Senior Alexis Truesdale (Wakefield, Mass.), Kirck and Sheeley also had two hits apiece.
JWU put the game away right off the bat with a 10-run first inning. Freshman Julia Huzi (Trumbull, Conn.) hit a lead-off home run and later a two-run single in the inning. Senior Devin Scales (Mount Airy, Md.) and sophomore Kaelani Gable (Vancouver, Wash.) also had RBI hits in the inning, which included three Laser errors as well.
Lasell answered with a five-run inning in the second. Truesdale and Kirck had RBI singles in the frame, Gendreau cracked a two-run double to center field and Sheeley capped the rally with an RBI single to center.
Lasell pulled to within 10-6 in the third inning on Hopkins' first career home run to center but JWU put the game away with four runs in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth. Hopkins rounded out the scoring with her second blast over the fence in the fifth inning.
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