CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lesley University earned a pair of wins as they swept a New England Collegiate Conference doubleheader with Newbury College this afternoon at Buckingham Field. Lesley topped Newbury 8-4 in the day's opening game before hanging on for a 5-4 victory in the nightcap. The Lynx, who are now winners of three straight, improve to 7-12 on the season and 4-2 in NECC play while the Nighthawks drop to 9-11 overall and 4-6 in the conference.
Both teams will be back in NECC play on Saturday as the Lynx head to Bennington, Vermont for a doubleheader with Southern Vermont College at noon while the Nighthawks will play host to Mitchell College for a pair of games. That matchup will be played on the campus of Regis College with first pitch also scheduled for noontime.
Game One: Newbury 4, Lesley 8
The Lynx got on the board first in game one as sophomore Mekenzi Golden (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) belted a two-run home run to left field to put the hosts up 2-0. Senior Allison Fountain (Cheshire, Conn.) kept the offense going in the first as she laced a double down the left field line before coming home on a double by sophomore pitcher Alyson Nisbet (Clovis, Calif.).
The Lynx would add two more in the bottom of the fourth inning as junior Selena Quezada (West Covina, Calif.) sent a bases-loaded single to right field that allowed sophomore Hannah Levensailor (Ayer, Mass.) to score. Lesley would get another run out of the rally as sophomore Carlyn Barker (Temecula, Calif.) plated Nisbet with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Lesley was heading into the late innings with a comfortable 5-0 lead before the Newbury offense found some life. With the bases full and two outs in the inning, junior Alyssa Donovan (West Haven, Conn.) blasted double to left field that cleared the bases as the Nighthawks cut the Lynx lead down to 5-3. Newbury would pull to within one as senior Olivia Kenyon (Canton, Mass.) added an RBI single, but Nisbet would escape the jam with a fly out to centerfield, stranding runners on second and third.
The Lesley bats would answer in the bottom of the inning as Barker knocked in a pair of runs with a triple to centerfield before Golden singled in the third run of the inning as the Lynx carried on for the 8-4 win.
Barker finished 1-for-2 at the plate with three RBI and two runs scored while Golden went 2-for-4, knocking in three and scoring one. Freshman Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) also added a pair of hits and a run scored while Quezada set up the offense from the leadoff spot, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
Ten different players recorded hits for the Nighthawks, headlined by Donovan's 3-for-4 performance while Kenyon, Sheri Liggiero (Tewksbury, Mass.), Lindsay Clark (Venice, Fla.), and Emily Humphries (Westborough, Mass.) each finished with two hits.
Nisbet improved to 3-5 on the season as she went the distance for the Lynx, allowing four runs and striking out three.
Game Two: Newbury 4, Lesley 5
The Nighthawks opened the scoring in game two as sophomore Naomi Ricciotti (Phoenix, Ariz.) singled home Liggiero in the top of the first as the guests jumped out in front, 1-0.
The Lynx answered and claimed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third. Pereira and Quezada each singled to start the inning before Barker singled and a Nighthawk error on the play allowed Pereira to score to tie the game. Two batters later, freshman Courtney Goggin (Cheshire, Conn.) knocked in Quezada with a two-out single to left field to put the Lynx up 2-1.
Newbury would reclaim their one-run lead in the top of the fifth inning as Liggiero tripled with one out before coming around on a double by Kenyon. Kenyon would score one batter later as Clark sent a single up the middle with two outs as they Nighthawks jumped back ahead 3-2.
Lesley wasted little time in answering as Golden led off the bottom part of the frame with her second home run of the day, a towering shot to left to tie the game. After a Fountain single, freshman hurler Jillian Sbardella (Dartmouth, Mass.) helped herself out with the first home run of her career to put the Lynx back in the driver's seat with a 5-3 lead.
The Nighthawks would not go quietly, however, as Liggiero and Kenyon both reached on Lynx fielding errors to lead off the top of the seventh inning. Ricciotti would make Lesley pay for their miscues as she launched a double to deep centerfield that allowed Liggiero to score. With runners on second and third with no outs, Sbardella got out of the jam with three straight fly-outs to secure the win in dramtic fashion.
All nine starters recorded hits for the Lynx in game two while Pereira finished 2-for-3 with a run scored. Sbardella went 1-for-2 at the dish with a home run, two RBI, and a run scored while Golden provided another punch for the offense as she finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
The top of the lineup provided the offense for the Nighthawks as their first four hitters combined to go 8-for-16 with three RBI and four runs scored while batters five through nine struggled to go 2-for-16 with two strikeouts and eight left on base. Liggiero paced the Nighthawks as she finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored.
Sbardella earned the win for the Lynx as she went all seven innings yielding four runs (three earned) while striking out two.