WESTON, Mass. – The four team, double-elimination portion of the 2014 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Softball Championship kicked off this morning on the campus of Regis College. After a day of four games, top-seeded Lesley University sits atop the pack with a perfect 2-0 record, while third-seeded Mitchell College and seventh-seeded Regis College each pulled an even 1-1 mark. Fourth-seeded Newbury College was eliminated from the tournament following a pair of losses and finish their season with a 15-19 overall record.
Mitchell and Regis will open tomorrow's play with a game at 12:00p. The winner will move on to face Lesley at 2:00p while the loser will be ousted from the tournament.
The Lynx picked up a pair of impressive victories, topping Newbury College by a score of 9-1 in five innings before grabbing an 8-1 win over Regis in the final game of the afternoon. The Lesley bats were hot as they out-hit their opponents by a combined 28-8 margin. For more on the action, please see below.
Game Four: #4 Newbury 1, #1 Lesley 9 – 5 Innings
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Lesley freshman Mekenzi Golden (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) finished 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored, and two RBI while senior Sarah Apgar (Andover, N.J.) finished a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored to power the Lesley attack to a 9-1 win a mercy-rule-shortened five innings affer.
Senior Allison Fountain (Cheshire, Conn.) chipped in going 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBI, and a run to support freshman hurler Allyson Nisbet (Clovis, Calif.) who scattered six hits and one run while striking out six in five innings of work.
Newbury sophomore catcher Alyssa Donovan (West Haven, Conn.) finished with a perfect 3-for-3 effort at the dish from the lead-off spot for the Nighthawks, including hitting a double and scoring the only Newbury run of the game. Olivia Kenyon (Canton, Mass.), Lindsey Clark (River Edge, N.J.), and Katie Haney (Winchendon, Mass.) also picked up hits in the loss.
The Lesley offense did not waste any time in putting runs on the board as Golden blasted a two-run home run, her sixth of the year, in the bottom of the first inning to give the Lynx a 2-0 lead.
The Lynx would add four more in the bottom of the second inning to extend their lead to 6-0. Fountain had the big hit of the inning as she laced a two-run triple to right field, scoring Apgar and Maria Nazzaro (North Reading, Mass.) who both reached on singles.
With Lesley leading 8-0 heading into the fifth inning, the Newbury bats made some noise as Donovan reached with a single and advanced to second on a groundout one batter later. Donovan then raced home on a Kenyon double to left field to cut the Lesley lead to 8-1. Nisbet limited the damage to just the one run as she forced a fly out to end the inning.
The Lynx ended the game via mercy-rule in the bottom of the inning as freshman Carlyn Barker (Marietta, Calif.) drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice-fly to centerfield.
Game Five: #7 Regis 6, #3 Mitchell 2
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Regis sophomores Alyssa McKinnon (Raynham, Mass.) and Katie Cuozzo (Lynn, Mass.) and junior Sam Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) all finished with two hits as the seventh-seeded Pride upset third-seeded Mitchell 6-2. Cuozzo added a pair of doubles, a run scored, and three RBI to her line while allowing just two earned runs and striking out five in a complete-game effort in the circle.
Lindsey Ramagnino (Totowa, N.J.), Shannon O'Neil (Chicopee, Mass.), Emily Morenzoni (Waterford, Conn.), and Dylan Riccardi (Elmont, N.Y.) each had two hits for the Mariners. Morenzoni and O'Neil each picked up RBI's in the loss.
The Mariners, who out-hit the Pride 11-7, could not get timely hitting as they left 12 runners on base in the game, including leaving two on in the first and stranding the bases loaded in the second.
In the top of the third inning, the Pride took advantage of a Mitchell miscue to spark some two-out magic. With a runner on first, McKinnon drove a ball that was mishandled in right field, allowing a run to score before Cuozzo made the Mariners pay with an RBI double to give Regis a 2-0 edge. After Cuozzo advance to third on a pass ball, Bliss sent an RBI single through the right side to score the Pride's third run of the inning.
Regis would add three more in the top of the seventh inning as McKinnon singled home a run and Cuozzo helped her own cause with another double down the left field line, scoring both Angelica Arredondo (Merrimac, Mass.) and Kirbie Garvey (Littleton, Mass.).
The Mariners would not go quietly, however, as they rallied in the bottom half of the inning. Sophomore Jenny Groman (New Britain, Conn.) singled to lead off the inning before advancing to third on a Romagnino double. O'Neil would push Groman across the plate with a ground out to second before Morenzoni hit a two-out, RBI single to right to cut the lead to 6-2, but Cuozzo forced a pop-up to end the game.
Game Six: #3 Mitchell 5, Newbury 3 – 8 innings
Box Score: Click here for box score
Mitchell and Newbury battled into extra innings as both clubs tried to avoid elimination following losses earlier in the day.
Newbury cracked the scoreboard first with a two-out rally in the bottom of the first. Olivia Kenyon (Canton, Mass.) ignited the offense with a two-out single to left before moving to second when Lindsey Clark (River Edge, N.J.) reached on an error in the Mitchell infield. Katie Haney (Winchendon, Mass.) followed with a single to center to plate Kenyon as the Nighthawks went up early, 1-0.
The Mariners would even things up in the top of the third as Samantha Ryan (Quaker Hill, Conn.) singled to start off the inning before swiping second to get into scoring position. Following a walk, Ryan stole third and then scored on a single by sophomore Rivkah Berkman (New London, Conn.). After a line out to the pitcher and a fly out to shallow center, the second walk of the inning loaded the bases for the Mariners, but Kenyon escaped the jam recorded a strikeout to end the inning.
The Mariners would regain a one-run advantage when Lindsey Romagnino (Totowa, N.J.) sent a two-out single to left to score Berkman in the top of the fifth.
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Nighthawks catcher Alyssa Donovan (West Haven, Conn.) immediately got herself into scoring position as she led off the inning with a double. Donovan would move to third following a bunt single by sophomore Sheri Liggiero (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Newbury had runners on the corners with no outs.
During the next at bat Liggiero tried to get herself into a pickle to allow Donovan to score, but the Mitchell defense held strong as they cut down the run at the plate to hold a 2-1 edge. The lead would not last long as Kenyon then smacked a single to center that brought Liggiero in as the tying run and the teams would head into extra innings.
Mitchell wasted little time to score a run in the top of the eighth. After Jenny Groman (New Britain, Conn.) was placed on second due to the international tie-breaker rule, Romagnino led off the inning with her second RBI hit of the game, sending a single into left center. After a strikeout, Brittany Fiederlein (Hampton, Conn.) would give the Mariners a much-needed cushion as she drove a ball over the right-centerfield fence for a two-run home run to give Mitchell a three run advantage, 5-2.
Newbury would pick up a run in the bottom of the eight, but Fiederlein retired the final two batters of the game with infield pop-ups to keep the Mitchell hopes alive.
Ryan finished a perfect 3-for-3 for the Mariners while Romagnino went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a pair of RBI. Fiederlein struck out four while being charged with just a single run in the complete-game win.
Leading the way for the Nighthawks was Liggiero, Kenyon, and freshman Naomi Ricciotti (Phoenix, Ariz.) who each finished 2-for-4 with a run scored. Kenyon limited the Mariners to eight hits in eight innings while striking out six in the loss.
Game Seven: Lesley 8, Regis 1
In the final game of the day, Lesley out-hit Regis 15-2 as the Lynx moved on with a perfect 2-0 record on the day.
After the teams exchanged runs in the second, the Lynx jumped ahead in the third when junior Jodee Doka (Sacramento, Calif.) laced a double into the right-center gap allowing Carlyn Barker (Marietta, Calif.) and Allison Fountain (Cheshire, Conn.) to both score.
Lesley would add two more in the top of the fifth inning on a two-run double by senior Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.) before receiving a pair of RBI singles from Sarah Apgar (Andover, N.J.) and Fountain in the top of the sixth as the top-seeded Lynx grabbed a commanding 7-1 lead.
Lesley would add one more in the top of the seventh inning when sophomore Angela Mukai (Amherst, N.H.) came around on a single by freshman Allyson Nisbet (Clovis, Calif.).
Sophomore starter Jordan Thomas (Fitchburg, Mass.) was excellent for the Lynx, allowing just two hits in the complete-game win. The lefty struck out two, walked one, and was charged with one run while facing just three batters over the minimum 21 for the game.
Barker and Mukai both registered a game-high three hits while Fountain, Mercurio, and Mekenzi Golden (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) each finished with two hits in the win.
For the Pride, Katie Cuozzo (Lynn, Mass.) and Sam Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) each finished 1-for-3 while Cuozzo scored the only run for Regis.