Gulls Take Two from Gordon in CCC Doubleheader

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott softball team hosted cross-town rival Gordon on Wednesday afternoon for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) double header. Led behind four ribbies from junior Emily Hoffman (Malden, Mass.) in game one the Gulls lifted to a 12-4 victory. In game two junior pitcher Courtney Blake (East Islip, N.Y.) broke her single-game strikeout high with 10 to help give Endicott the 7-0 triumph. With the two wins Endicott improves to 5-7 (2-0) while the Fighting Scots fall to 1-12 (0-2 CCC).

Endicott will see the field next tomorrow, April 2^nd as they host Curry for a re-scheduled meeting from March 29^th starting at 3:00 p.m.. Gordon will also see action tomorrow as they travel to Bristol, R.I. for a CCC matchup with Salve Regina.

Game One: Endicott 12, Gordon 4

Game one was a battle early on as the Fighting Scots took the lead in the top of the first as freshman Emily Kline (Park Ridge, N.J.) singled to center with runners on second and third to send sophomore Emily Burkhart (Manheim, Pa.) home. On the play the Gulls committed a throwing error which allowed junior Marissa Meenan (Wayne, Pa.) to cross home plate for the 2-0 lead.

The lead would not last for long as Endicott quickly countered back in the bottom of the first. With a runner in scoring position at third sophomore Julia McNeill (Hauppage, N.Y.) sacrificed to center field to send freshman Danielle Stratton (Agawam, Mass.) home. Junior Sam DiBella (Danvers, Mass.) would crank a double to get in scoring position for sophomore Hannah Graney (Acton, Mass.) as she responded with a ground-rule double to send home the game tying run.

To close out the inning, Hoffman would launch her first homerun of the season to notch two more tallies on the scoreboard for the Gulls to take the 4-2 advantage.

After a scoreless second inning for both sides the Fighting Scots would catch back up in the top of the third as they put up two more runs. Senior Kara Pepper (Wyckoff, N.J.) would take home off a pass ball before senior Rachel Ryder (Telford, Pa.) singled to bring junior Kiersten Kieren (Grotton, Mass.) home for the game tying run.

Again the Gulls would respond quickly as they boasted a seven-run inning in the bottom of the third to take the lead for good. To start off the inning, sophomore Ilyza Holman (Ashland, Mass.) singled to right field to send sophomore Lindsee Allienello (East Providence, R.I.) around the bases after she got in scoring position off a stolen base. With the bases loaded McNeill would tally her second sacrifice RBI of the game to make the score 6-4 with two outs.

With runners on second and third DiBella ripped a ground-rule double to easily send Stratton and senior Jess Linden (Stratford, Conn.) around the bases. To close out the inning Hoffman and freshman Margaret Martzolf (Port Saint Lucie, Fla.) would each hit a double to total three more ribbies for the 11-4 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth freshman Stephanie Cameron (Milford, Conn.) crossed the plate for the Blue and Green off a wild pitch to take the 12-4 advantage. This gave Endicott the opportunity to close out the game in the top of the fifth. Mallozzi came in to relieve senior Meg Donegan (Atkinson, N.H.) and hurled a quick 1-2-3 inning to secure the 12-4 victory.

With the win, Donegan hurled her first victory of the season as she improves to 1-1. The senior pitched six total innings recording three strikeouts on 21 batters faced.

Game Two: Endicott 7, Gordon 0

In game two, junior Courtney Blake (East Islip, N.Y.) took the circle and hurled her sixth complete game of the season she as improved to 4-2 with her second shutout this year. The junior struck out 10 batters to break her single-game high of five on just 24 batters faced while hurling four 1-2-3 innings out of seven.

After a scoreless first and second inning for both sides the Blue and Green would earn three tallies on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. With sophomore Chrissy Gikas (Danvers, Mass.) on second after a stolen base, junior Jamie Corda (Higganum, Conn.) launched her first hit of the day as she singled to left field to advance Gikas to third. Gikas would then take advantage of an over thrown ball by the left fielder to take off for home for the 1-0 lead.

McNeill would follow with a single up the middle to send Corda home from third base for the 2-0 advantage. To close out the inning, with runners on second and first Graney would single to left field to bring McNeill home for her first RBI of the game and second of the day.

Blake would hurl a 1-2-3 top of the fourth before Endicott scored another three runs in the bottom. Statton and Corda would crank back to back doubles to compile a pair of RBI's for the 5-0 score. Corda would then finish the inning by crossing home plate on a wild pitch.

Endicott would notch one more run as freshman Casie Beauchemin (Lincoln, R.I.) recorded her first RBI of the day as Graney went home off a bunt single in the bottom of the fifth.

Blake would allow just one hit in the top of the seventh while recording one strikeout to secure the 7-0 victory and close to game.