LEICESTER, Mass. – The Lesley University softball team split a doubleheader with host Becker College in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action this afternoon. After claiming a 3-1 victory in game one, the Lynx suffered their first conference setback of the season as the Hawks captured a 6-2 win in the nightcap.
The Lynx move to 15-13 on the season and 14-1 in NECC play while the Hawks go to 12-16 overall and 9-5 in the conference.
Game One: Lesley 3, Becker 1
Lynx freshman Alyson Nisbet (Clovis, Calif.) claimed her third win in as many starts with a complete-game effort, limiting the Hawks to just five hits and one run (unearned) while striking out six to improve her record to 8-4 on the year. Nisbet was incredibly efficient, walking just one while throwing 55 of her 77 pitches for strikes.
Sophomore Angela Mukai (Amherst, Calif.) delivered a two-run double in the top of the fourth inning to power the Lynx offense. Mukai also picked up a hit in the nightcap and has hit safely in eight of the last nine games.
Lesley freshman Mekenzi Golden (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) collected two hits and scored a run while senior Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.) finished 1-for-1 with a pair of walks and a run scored.
Golden singled to start the top of the fourth inning before Mercurio followed with a walk. After junior Jodee Doka (Sacramento, Calif.) moved both runners over with a sacrifice bunt, Mukai laced a double to left field to give the Lynx a 2-0 lead.
The Lynx added another run in the top of the fifth inning when Maria Nazzaro (North Reading, Mass.) scored on a Carlyn Barker (Marietta, Calif.) bunt.
Becker cut the Lynx lead to two runs while threatening to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Sophomore Jaclyn Orangio (Maynard, Mass.) led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a error on the play. After Nisbet recorded the first two outs of the inning, the Hawks took advantage of the second Lesley miscue of the inning as Orangio scored on a throwing error in the Lynx infield. A Katherine DiMascio (Braintree, Mass.) single would put the tying run on base, but Nisbet escaped the jam with her second strikeout of the inning to preserve the 3-1 lead.
Becker sophomore Kelsey Norberg (Uxbridge, Mass.) was charged with the loss in the complete-game effort, striking out six and allowing just four hits.
Game two: Lesley 2, Becker 6
Becker used a six-run first inning of game two and Norberg kept the Lesley bats quiet to earn her 12th win of the season. The win marks the first time the Hawks have beaten the Lynx in program history.
The first six Hawk batters all recorded hits in the bottom of the first inning as the hosts quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Freshman Marlena Karavolis (McMurray, Pa.) capped the scoring in the inning with a two-run single to right as Becker scored all the runs they would need in the six-run inning.
Norberg was excellent for the Hawks, going the distance for the second straight game, scattering just seven hits and striking out four.
The Lynx loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the fourth and picked up their first run of the game on a Barker single to left. Norberg limited the damage in the inning to just the lone run, forcing a ground-out to end the inning.
Lesley loaded the bases with two outs for the second straight inning in the top of the fifth, but failed to score as Norberg escaped the jam with a strikeout to keep the Becker lead at 6-1.
The Lynx picked up their second run of the game in the top of the seventh when Mukai plated Doka on a fielder's choice, but it was too little, too late as the Hawks hung on for the 6-2 victory.
Golden finished 1-for-4, extending her current hitting streak to six games, while senior Sarah Apgar (Andover, N.J.) picked up a pair of hits in the loss.
Lesley will be back in action on Saturday, April 26th when they celebrate Senior Day as they host NECC foe Daniel Webster College in a doubleheader starting at 12:00p.