Salve Regina Swipes Two From Endicott On Senior Day, 5-2, 9-6

BEVERLY, Mass. — Salve Regina University took a pair of Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) games over host Endicott, 5-2, 9-6, Sunday afternoon at the Softball Complex on the Gulls' Senior Day.

Before the doubleheader, Endicott honored its four members of the Class of 2017 in the annual Senior Day ceremony recognizing senior outfielder Julia McNeill (Smithtown, N.Y.), senior second baseman Chrissy Gikas (Danvers, Mass.), senior catcher/third baseman Lindsee Allienello (East Providence, R.I.), and senior first baseman Lexi Pederson (Chandler, Ariz.).

GAME ONE: SALVE REGINA 5, ENDICOTT 2

Senior pitcher Kelsey Boarman (North Dighton, Mass.) tossed her 10th complete game of the season to improve to 8-3 in the circle after Game 1 as she kept the Gulls at bay for the majority of the contest.

Salve Regina struck first as a leadoff walk to junior second baseman Francesca Galeazzi (Lynn, Mass.) came around to score on senior designated player Kara O'Riley's (Acton, Mass.) sacrifice fly to right field with one out.

Both pitchers then settled in for a mid-game duel with scoreless softball until the Seahawks were able to scratch another one on the board when another leadoff walk crossed the plate in the fifth inning.

The Seahawks took a 3-0 lead in sixth as sophomore outfielder Lindsay Florent (New Bedford, Mass.) ripped a double to left to score senior outfielder Lexi Soucie (North Easton, Mass.) all the way from first base with two outs.

Endicott got one back in the bottom of the frame when Allienello led off the home half of the sixth with a single to center. Allienello then advanced to third on consecutive infield groundouts before sophomore center fielder Olivia Odermatt's (Cheshire, Conn.) dribbler to first was misplayed to allow Allienello to score the Gulls' first run of the day.

Salve Regina tacked on two more runs in the seventh on senior shortstop Nikki Bukovsky's (Westport, Conn.) two-RBI single to right center with two outs before the Gulls' own two-out rally pushed across one more run on Allienello's RBI single up the middle to plate junior catcher Emily Sharpe (South Glens Falls, N.Y.).

Ultimately, Endicott's comeback effort fell short as a bases-loaded flyout to center ended the game.

Sophomore pitcher Laura Somerville (Suffield, Conn.) was tagged with the complete-game loss (2-4) as she allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits, walked four and struck out four.

GAME TWO: SALVE REGINA 9, ENDICOTT 6

Sophomore catcher Emily Woznick (Sandy Hook, Conn.) went 4-for-5 with five RBIs in the nightcap, including an absolute moonshot off the scoreboard in left field to increase the lead to 3-0 in the third inning.

Sophomore designated player Amanda Riley (Barrington, N.H.) went back-to-back with Woznick as she sent the ball soaring over the fence in right field to make it 4-0.

The third inning proved to be high-scoring as Endicott took managed its lead of the afternoon with six runs in the frame, all with two outs.

The Gulls bounced Seahawks' freshman starter Kaleigh Dwyer (East Brunswick, N.J.) after she faced nine of the Gulls' 11 batters in the home half. Boarman came on in relief, but the damage was already done, highlighted by RBI doubles from sophomore first baseman Jamie Hopgood (Warwick, R.I.), Odermatt, and junior first baseman Margaret Martzolf (Port Saint Lucie, Fla.).

The Gulls clung to a 6-5 lead heading to the seventh inning, but watched it slip away as a dropped pop up, single, and throwing error produced the game-tying run.

Then, a strikeout and international walk paved the way for Woznick's searing two-RBI single to center to score the go ahead runs and the Seahawks added a final run on an RBI groundout as Gulls' freshman reliever Rylie Strong (Arvada, Colo.) fell to 0-4 on the season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls stranded 10 runners in scoring position on the day in the two games combined.
• There were 15 stolen bases combined between both teams today.
• Five of nine walks (two leadoff) drawn by Salve Regina came around to score today.

FOR THE FOES

• Sophomore third baseman Elizabeth Lombardo (Thomaston, Conn.) reached base safely in seven of nine plate appearances and scored a game-high four runs overall.
• The Seahawks swiped nine bases on the afternoon to increase their conference-leading total with 75 now, as Lombardo led the way with four of them.
• Boarman earned both wins in the circle to move to a CCC-best 9-3 on the season (most wins).

NOTES

• The Gulls are now 31-13 all-time and 22-5 at home against Salve Regina dating back to March 30, 2000.
• The Gulls met Salve Regina twice in the regular season last year, as the Gulls split an away doubleheader at Salve Regina (W 1-0, L 3-0) on April 16, 2016.
• Salve Regina also won the most recent meeting, 5-4, in the CCC Tournament on May 3, 2016.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (6-12, 2-6 CCC) travels to face Salem St. in a twin bill on Tuesday, April 11th at 4:00 p.m.

Salve Regina (11-8, 6-0 CCC) hosts Wentworth in a doubleheader rescheduled from April 1st on Tuesday, April 11th at 5:00/7:00 p.m.

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(Photo Credit — David Le)