Gulls Stopped in Opening Game of CCC Softball Title Defense
April 30, 2012
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BEVERLY, Mass. – Looking for their tenth consecutive Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) softball title, the Endicott Gulls were set back in their first game of the 2012 tournament, losing to the University of New England 3-0 on Monday at Endicott’s Softball Complex.
Shortstop Shelby Phillips (Taunton, Mass.) had two hits for Endicott and was on base in the bottom of the seventh but was one of six runners stranded on the day for the Gulls, who also left two runners on base in the fourth inning, trailing 2-0 at the time.
Endicott was held to just four hits by freshman Kelly Reid (Nantucket, Mass.), who pitched two complete games on Monday for UNE. Reid also struck out seven Gulls, issuing just two walks.
Catcher Ashley Gott (Winterport, Maine) went 2-4 from the plate and was involved in all three UNE runs, scoring twice and driving in another. She scored to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the third when shortstop Amanda Vaudreuil (Windham, N.H.) reached on an error by her counterpart Phillips.
Gott drove in her run the next inning with a single through the left side to score center fielder Maegen Johnson (Standish, Maine).
She helped the visitors add an insurance run in the top of the seventh, leading off the inning with a ringing single to center field and advancing to third on one of second baseman Erin Grover’s (Biddeford, Maine) two hits in the game. Gott crossed the plate on a groundout to second by Vaudreuil.
Sophomore Nell O’Connor (Harwich, Mass.) also went the distance in the circle for the Gulls, but fell to 8-5 on the season after allowing two earned runs on seven hits in seven innings. O’Connor did record five strikeouts and issued just one free pass on balls.
Second baseman Jesse Bilafer (Concord, Mass.) and center fielder Alexandra Moise (North Reading, Mass.) had the other two hits for Endicott.
For UNE, Reid improved her record to 14-4 on the season.
The second seeded Gulls (20-16-1) now must come out of the loser’s bracket in this double elimination tournament, while the Nor’easters (24-12), seeded third in the tourney, win their first two games after beating \#6 Western New England 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Monday.
Both teams will play again on Thursday, May 3rd, with Endicott facing \#8 Eastern Nazarene in an elimination game at 2:30 at Salve Regina.
The Nor’easters will await the winners of Roger Williams and Salve Regina, currently underway in Newport.