By Zack Downing, Staff Writer
UMass Boston came down to Dartmouth on Saturday, April 15 to face the Corsairs in an afternoon doubleheader, the third doubleheader of the week for the Corsairs softball crew.
The first matchup was the more action packed of the two, with 21 hits on the game from both teams. Despite the Beacons loading the bases in the second inning, a number didn’t hit the scoreboard until the third.
By the sixth inning, UMass Boston had extended their lead to five, thanks to a couple of doubles that sent home three runners in the fifth. However, UMass Dartmouth was not going down easily, scoring two runs in the sixth and keeping the Beacons offense quiet. The last two innings were pitched by first-year Annika Evensen, who has one of the best ERAs in the LEC.
Junior Hannah Smith made it home in the seventh off an RBI from Emily Colton, but it wasn’t enough to catch up. The final score was 5-3, UMass Boston.
The second game of the day started quickly for the Beacons, scoring 4 runs in the first two innings, the first run coming from a wild pitch at the game’s start. On the other side, Boston’s first-year pitcher of their own, Jess Greenspan, presented a challenge for UMass Dartmouth early on, stifling their offense to be hitless until the fourth.
It was 6-0 after 5 innings, but the Corsairs looked to start a comeback by loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth. Hopes were high for a revival of the UMass Dartmouth offense, but the Beacons’ Greenspan locked up the inning by striking out her tenth and keeping home plate closed.
After a scoreless seventh inning, the final score was 6-0, UMass Boston.
The Corsairs next traveled to Eastern Connecticut to face the Warriors on their turf for another doubleheader. UMass first-year Nicole McSweeney scored in the first inning, to be met with 3 runs from Eastern Connecticut right after. The Corsairs tied the game up with 2 runs in the second, and then the game slowed down, going scoreless for four innings.
It was the sixth inning that saw the opposition jump to action, beginning with an RBI double past third base. A flurry of hits followed from the Warriors to send 4 more players around the bases, and in half an inning the score became 8-3, Eastern Connecticut.
No one put up points in the seventh inning, and the final score stayed 8-3. Junior Hannah Smith came to the second game ready to exact revenge, and her pitching slowed the potent Warriors offense. Both teams scored a point in the first inning, the Corsairs’ coming from the lead-off batter McSweeney, but the Warriors’ point would be the last point that Smith would allow.
She pitched a complete game, allowing 7 hits but only 1 run. In the fifth inning UMass Dartmouth scored another point on back to back doubles, and that was the only point they would need. The final score was a Corsair victory, 2-1.
Nicole McSweeney led the team with 5 hits on 8 at-bats, all of them being singles. She boasts a .363 batting average on the season so far.
The Corsairs will be ending their season at Keene State on Saturday the 29. Go on out and support your team!