#3 Mitchell and #4 Bay Path Advance to Semifinals of the 2010 NECC Softball Championship
2010 NECC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals • Tuesday, May 4
Game 1-#6 Newbury (12-22, 5-11) at #3 Mitchell (20-12,
12-4), 13-0 MC (5 inn.)
Game 2-#5 Daniel Webster (13-16, 8-8) at #4 Bay Path (20-18, 9-7),
8-0 BPC (5 inn.)
Semifinals • Friday, May 7 (Hosted by Lesley at
UMass Boston)
Game 3-#4 Bay Path (21-18) at #1 Lesley (22-10,
15-1), 10:00 a.m.
Game 4-#3 Mitchell (21-12) vs. #2 Elms (17-15, 14-2), 12:00
p.m.
Game 5-Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 2:00 p.m.
Game 6-Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 4:00 p.m.
Semifinals and Championship Game • Saturday, May 8
(Hosted by Lesley at UMass Boston)
Game 7-Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6, 12:00
p.m.
Game 8-Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 7, 2:00 p.m.
Championship Game • Sunday, May 9 (Hosted by Lesley
at UMass Boston)
Game 9 (If Necessary), 1:00 p.m.
# 3 Mitchell 13, #6 Newbury 0
Box Score: http://www.mitchellathletics.com/sports/sball/2009-10/files/mcs33.htm
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College softball team finished with 12 hits in a 13-0 victory over Newbury College on Tuesday afternoon in a quarterfinals match-up of the 2010 NECC Softball Championship.
Mitchell (21-12 overall) advances on to play second-seeded Elms College in the semifinals on Friday, May 7 at noon. The semifinals and championship game will be hosted by top-seeded Lesley University on the campus of UMass Boston in Cambridge, Mass. Newbury ends its season with an overall record of 12-23.
The Mariners scored three runs in the first inning to jump out to an early lead. Freshman Meghan Burke (Bronx, N.Y.) had an RBI single in the rally while senior Michele Anderson (Scotland, Conn.) capped things off with an RBI double to right.
Mitchell tacked on another run in the second before the game was delayed for nearly 90 minutes due to a passing thunderstorm. When the game resumed, Mitchell struck for four more runs in the frame to lead 8-0 heading into the third. The Mariners sent a total of nine batters to the plate in the frame, with sophomore Nikki Hoxie (Winsted, Conn.) supplying the big blow with a two-run homer to center field. It was the first home run of her collegiate career.
Mitchell added five more runs in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Senior Kelly Reynolds (Quaker Hill, Conn.) plated the first run with a grounder to third, and sophomore Marissa Thomas (New London, Conn.) followed with an RBI single through the right side. A wild pitch brought in the next run, and junior Jen Bordonaro (Winsted, Conn.) drew a bases-loaded walk to force in another. The final run crossed the plate on a ground out by Hoxie and put the Mariners up 13-0.
Mitchell sophomore Kristina Torres (Groton, Conn.) gave up three hits over 5.0 innings to record her sixth shutout of the season. She struck out nine and walked one and improved to 10-7 overall on the season.
Bordonaro went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Mitchell offense. Sophomore Stacey Suplicki (New London, Conn.) also had three hits while Anderson and Thomas each finished with a pair.
Newbury starter Katie O’Hara (Abingdon, Md.) gave up 13 runs (12 earned) on 12 hits and struck out three while walking four. She finished the season with an overall record of 8-11. Ariel Ross (Gales Ferry, Conn.) had two of the Nighthawks’ three hits in the contest.
#4 Bay Path 8, #5 Daniel Webster 0
Box Score: http://athletics.baypath.edu/sports/sball/2009-10/stats/necc01.htm
LONGMEADOW, Mass.- The #4seed Bay Path Wildcats defeated the #5 Daniel Webster Eagles 8-0 in five innings of the 2010 New England Collegiate Conference Championship Quarterfinals this afternoon on the campus of Bay Path. Senior outfielder Sarah Gates (Crown Point, Ind.) led all players with two hits and three RBI.
Despite a halt of game after the bottom of the first inning due to extreme weather conditions, the Wildcats managed to keep the 2-0 lead and score six more runs in the next three innings to wrap up the game early.
In the top of the first the Eagles picked up the first hit of the game with junior shortstop Amanda Varricchio (Middletown, Conn.) sending one hard to second base. Bay Path senior Sam Gunseth (Swanzey, N.H.) overthrew to first sending Varricchio to second. Varricchio would take third base on a ground-out by the senior hurler Kristina Rieger (Concord, N.H.). This would prove to be closest the Eagles would come to scoring.
Bay Path would strike early scoring the eventual game winner and first run in the first. Junior lead-off batter Katie Begin (Weare, N.H.) would reach on a walk. Next up, Gunseth would lay down a perfect sacrifice bunt and reach first on a throwing error by Daniel Webster’s senior catcher Erin Hurd (Centerville, Mass.). Gunseth would steal second, while Gates smacked one to centerfield to plate Begin. Sophomore infielder Meg Whitcomb (Lyndon, Vt.) flied out o right field scoring Gunseth on the sacrifice.
After a twenty minute break for wind and rain, Bay Path would again score three more in the bottom of the second. Begin would notch an RBI, bringing sophomore catcher Kellie Lastowksi (Turners Falls, Mass.) home on a single pop-fly past shortstop. Gates would again produce big with two RBI launching a shot to left field plating Begin and freshman outfielder Ashley Provost (Ludlow, Mass.).
Junior infielder Jess Priestly (Middleboro, Mass.) would start the ball rolling in the third shellacking a shot down the left line. Freshman pinch runner Jen Scionti (Cromwell, Conn.) would eventually score the sixth run off an RBI single through the left side by Provost. Nizinski would send a sacrifice fly out the right field to score Lastowski.
Whitcomb would tally the final RBI in the fourth singling up the middle with Gunseth crossing the plate. This would prove to be the much needed eighth run to enact the mercy rule in favor of the Wildcats.
Senior Jess Nizinski (West Springfield, Mass.) would limit the Eagles to only three more hits not allowing any runners to advance to second. Nizinski (15-12) faced 18 batters giving up only four hits for her first shut-out of the season.
Rieger (7-7) suffered the loss giving up eight runs, six earned, on seven hits. Rieger walked three while fanning one for the game.
Varricchio, Hurd, Rieger and freshman outfielder Chelsey Crawford (Westfield, Mass.) would each notch hits for Daniel Webster.
#4 Bay Path will advance to the semifinals on Friday, May 7 at 10:00 a.m. facing the top seed and host Lesley University at the UMass Boston softball field in Cambridge, Mass. Daniel Webster finishes the year with a 13-17 record, Bay Path is now 21-18 overall.
LINKS
Championship Handbook and Directions
Bay Path/Daniel Webster Game Program
Championship Game Program
