April 3, 2010
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
BOSTON, MA - Sophomore pitcher Molly Rathbun (Hebron, CT) hurled seven and two-thirds innings of two-hit ball to pick up a pair of victories and also collected four hits and knocked in six runs to lead the Eastern Connecticut State University softball team to a doubleheader sweep over host University of Massachusetts Boston today in the Little East Conference opener at the Clark Athletic Center Field on the campus of UMass Boston. The Warriors took game one in five innings by score of 9-0 and capped the afternoon with an 8-3 victory in game two to improve to 10-2 overall, including 2-0 in LEC play, while the Beacons fall to 6-9 and 0-2.
Eastern Connecticut State took an early 2-0 lead with two runs in the top of the first inning when sophomore Priscilla Alicea (Stratford, CT) singled to lead off the contest and senior Kim Church (Farmington, CT) reached on an errant throw on a sacrifice bunt attempt. Junior Rachel Soychak (Mahopac, NY) later brought home both runners with a double. The Warriors added three more runs in the second when freshman Arielle Cooper (Mystic, CT) reached on an error and promptly scored on a double to left off the bat of sophomore Rosie Manzo (Hudson, MA). Alicea was then hit by a pitch and both runners later scored on a two-run single by Rathbun to give the visitors a 5-0 advantage.
Meanwhile, Rathbun was spinning a no-hitter on the mound until senior Amanda Cianciulli (Billerica, MA) beat out a bunt single back to her for UMass Boston's first hit after two and two-thirds innings. It would stand as the home team's lone hit for the game. Church and senior Ashley Sullivan (Trumbull, CT) began the fourth with back-to-back doubles to increase the Eastern lead to 6-0. Rathbun singled to put two runners on base and senior Katie O'Toole (Waterbury, CT) delivered with a double to plate both runners and give the Warriors an 8-0 lead. Eastern tacked on another score in the fifth when Manzo led off the frame with a single and later scored on a two-out triple by Sullivan for a 9-0 margin. The Beacons were unable to score two runs in the bottom of the frame and the game was halted due to the eight-run mercy rule.
Rathbun was 2-4 with two RBI and threw five innings, allowing three walks, while striking out seven to earn the win for Eastern, while Kara Willis (Burrillville, RI) suffered the loss for UMB, allowing nine runs (five earned) on 12 hits, while fanning two in five innings.
Rathbun broke the second game open with the Warriors' first home run of the year on a grand slam homer to left field to give them an 8-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning. Eastern Connecticut took a one-run lead earlier in the inning when Church cracked a leadoff double to left field and later scored on an O'Toole single through the left side of a drawn in infield for a 4-3 margin.
UMass Boston got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the first frame when Cianciulli reached on an infield single and later scored on a ground out by junior Maria Nasta (Andover, MA) for a 1-0 edge. The Beacons struck again in the third when sophomore Lisa Polsonetti (Revere, MA) ripped a double to left center field and moved to third on a bunt single by Cianciulli to put runners on the corners. Cianciulli then forced a throw to second on the front end of a double steal as Polsonetti slid in on the back end with the team's second run. The Warriors knotted the score at 2-2 in the fourth when O'Toole reached on an error and freshman Kelly Paterson (Southington, CT) reached on an infield single with one out. Sophomore relief pitcher Kassondra Silva (Hamden, CT) then reached on an errant throw to first base that allowed both runners to score ahead of her for a tie game. Eastern Connecticut took its first lead of the day in the fifth when Alicea reached on a leadoff infield single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Church and continued on to third on the play where the throw was off the mark, allowing her to score the go-ahead run. UMass Boston responded in the bottom of the frame when freshman Sue Killilea (Abington, MA) cracked a double to center and later scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of freshman Marisa McKinnon (Revere, MA) to tie the score at 3-3.
Rathbun improved to 6-1 for the Warrriors with two and two-thirds innings of one hit, one walk relief, while setting down five on strikes. Junior lefty Emily Wolf (Salem, NH) went the distance for the Beacons, hurling seven innings and yielding eight runs (five earned) on 11 hits and two walks to go with a pair of strikeouts. Killilea finished game two, going 3-4 with a double and a run, while Cianciulli collected three hits on the day for UMass Boston. Church racked up four hits on the day, including two doubles and scored three times for Eastern Connecticut State, while Sullivan finished the afternoon with three hits, including a double and a triple to go with two RBI and a run scored.
UMass Boston will be in action again on Monday, April 5 when it travels to Newton, MA for a doubleheader at Lasell College at 3:00 p.m., while the Warriors head to New London, CT on Monday for a 3:00 p.m. twinbill at the United States Coast Guard Academy.
