Newton, MA—  Michelle Torres (Waltham, MA) drove in the game-winning run in the eighth inning to lift the Lasell College softball team, 9-8, over Emmanuel College in game one of a Great Northeast Athletic Conference twinbill.  In the nightcap, Ashley Laramie (Lynn, MA) mimicked the earlier play, knocking in the game-winning run in the seventh, for a 5-4 walk-off victory, just as the game was about to be called due to darkness. 

It was an exciting afternoon of softball action leading up to the dramatic Laser wins which left Lasell at 16-16-1 overall, and 12-6 in league play. A come-from-behind rally of five runs (on five hits and two errors) by the Saints in the seventh inning forced the extra frame in game one.  Emmanuel, now 9-14 overall and 5-11 GNAC, held the lead through the top of the fifth in game two, at which point the Lasers scored two fifth inning runs to equalize the scoreboard, and Kelly Silvia (Oaks Bluff, MA) came around the bases to secure the win in the seventh. 

The thrilling first game started with Kristina Borrelli (Kingston, MA) putting a hit into short center field and a sacrifice bunt by Kelly Loid (Issaquah, WA) moved Borrelli to second. Chelsey Guselli (Methuen, MA) walked in the three hole to put two runners on.  Shortly after, Borrelli took two bases to score on a Danielle Andruskiwec (Orange, CT) grounder through the middle, putting the Saints on top 1-0.  A fly out to Torres in left field ended the top of the inning.

Lasell took the lead in the latter half of the inning when Talia DeChiara (Kingston, MA) reached second base after she launched a fly ball into the outfield which Emmanuel’s center fielder misread and dropped.  DeChiara stole third in the following play to get into scoring position with two outs. An RBI single by Kirsten Mammola (North Reading, MA) into the right field gap equalized the score to one-all.

Mammola proceeded to second base on a passed ball and pressed on to home when Ashley Laramie (Lynn, MA) tripled over the Saint’s center fielder's head, giving Lasell a 2-1 lead. A high two-bag knock by Kelly Barden (Quincy, MA) then plated Laramie. Sarah Palmer-Thomson (Dennis, MA) caught the final out for Emmanuel, concluding the inning with a 3-1 Laser advantage.

Lasell went ahead 5-1 in the bottom of the third when Torres walked and Barden rapped a single into short left field to put runners on the corners. Torres scored on Kerrie Starkey’s (Keene, NH) subsequent hit and Barden stole home while Emmanuel was distracted picking off Starkey at first. 

The Saints got another run in the fourth off a double by Erin McSheffrey (Woburn, MA) into deep center and a single by Kristen Landers (Worcester, MA) down the left line.  Kathryn Copp (Fremont, NH) sent a sacrifice fly into center field to score McSheffrey, bringing the score to 5-2.

A one, two, three inning in the top of the fifth came about on three great defensive plays by Lasell.  Freshman pitcher Alison Saluti (Braintree, MA) struck out her first batter and DeChiara made a great grab across her body on a grounder for the second out.  Saluti helped out her own cause in the following play, picking up a slow rolling ground ball to make the out at first.

Torres got the ball rolling in the fifth with a base-hit, however, a strike-out turned throw-out double play by the Saints on the next batter returned the Laser runners to the dugout. Laramie and Barden refilled the empty bases, but a final fly-out just shy of the left field fence prevented the runners from advancing.

Saluti struck out her first batter in the seventh and then let two on with hits into the outfield.  With the tying run at the plate and a full count, Lloid brought home Proulx hitting into center field while also leaving runners on first and third.  Samantha Luther (Carlisle, MA) pinch ran for Lliod, and stole second.  A Laser miscue on a fly ball to right field by Guselli allowed Borrelli to score, unearned, and brought the Saints within one run of the Lasers, 5-4.

Still with just one out and the go-ahead run on second, Jesse Hutchins (Sebago, ME) hammered a ball into right field, scoring the tying run and moving Guselli to third.  Guselli put the visitors ahead, 6-5, in the next play, running home on an Andruskiwec slice into center field.  Hutchins put Emmanuel up another run on a single by McSheffrey.

Nicole Slader (Harrisville, RI) came in to replace Saluti with two runners on and one out. The Lasers picked off Hamel at home during a bunt by Landers but the Saints loaded the bases when Copp walked in their next chance.  A fly out to Culver in short center ended the inning.

Lasell was left with in a two-run deficit entering the bottom half of the frame.  Torres hit a ground rule double and was then replaced by Amy Doyle (Kingston, MA) to pinch run.  Doyle sprinted home on a throwing error by the Saints third baseman, which also permitted Mammola, the game-tying runner, to take three bags.  Mammola scored the tying run on another Emmanuel error in the field, which allowed Barden, the go-ahead runner, to reach first.  A great stop by Guselli on a fielder’s choice by Starkey recorded the Saints second out, and a perfectly placed single by Marissa McHugh (Plymouth, MA) put Laser runners on second and third. A groundout to first forced extra-innings as the Lasers left the game-winning runs on base.

With an runner placed on second to start the eighth, the Saints went ahead, 8-7, after two forced plays to first advanced Christina Proulx (Boxborough, MA) home.  Slader struck out her last batter, looking. 

Lasell evened the score at eight-all in the bottom of the inning when Silvia, the Lasers last out and placed runner at second, scored on a Haas double into left field.  DeChiara battled out a full count to single just over first base and Torres hit the walk-off single to score Haas and win the game for Lasell, 9-8.

Haas had an impressive line of stats, going 4-for-5 with one double, one run, one RBI, and two stolen bases.  Barden and Torres both went 3-for-4 in game one, adding three RBI and two runs between them.  

Saluti struck out six batters in six and a third innings, yielding just three earned runs, but it was Slader who earned the win, closing the game with one hit and zero earned runs, while fanning one batter. 

Copp suffered the defeat on the mound for Emmanuel, striking out four along the way.

Emmanuel took an early edge in game two, beginning when Guselli beat out the play at first with a base-hit to DeChiara at short stop and Elyse Turgeon (Dracut, MA) followed it up with a home run over the left field fence, giving Emmanuel a 2-0 lead at the end of the first.

In the second half of the inning, Haas took first base on balls and Mammola had a two-bag nod into center, bringing in Haas for Lasell’s first run. Mammola then knotted the score at two-all when she came home on a Barden launch into right field.  Lloid made the final out on strikes, leaving one Lasell runner on base.

After a scoreless second inning, Proulx doubled into left field, advanced to third on a fielding throw, and came home on a ground out by Guselli. 

The Saints held the 3-2 advantage until the fifth when they added to their advantage.  Proulx doubled into left field and was brought home on a Luther single up the middle. 

Lasell answered in the bottom of the fifth with two runs on two hits and one error.  Silvia reached first on an error, and was shot home by a Haas triple.  Mammola, who went 3-for-3 in the second contest, scored Haas with a single through the right side. 

The sixth inning passed without a change in score.  Lasell loaded the bases in the seventh, with one out on a Saint error, a Haas single, and a Mammola walk.  Laramie swung for the walk-off single which sailed into right field to end the game as Silvia crossed home plate.

Mammola added two RBI and one run to her three hits and also collected the win on the mound, retiring three Emmanuel batters on strikes.  Haas and Barden each had two hits in three chances in the second game.

LLoid struck out five Lasell batters in the game, allowing eight hits and three earned runs in the loss.  Proulx and Luther finished with two hits each.

Lasell faces league leading St. Joseph’s College of Maine (25-5, 18-0 GNAC) on Wednesday afternoon, April 14th, on their fifth straight day of GNAC competition.  First pitch of the doubleheader will be thrown at 3:00 p.m. The date will also mark Senior Day for Barden, Culver, and Slader, who are playing in their final season with the Blue & White.