CLERMONT, Fla.—UMass Boston softball used a big sixth-inning rally to defeat the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in their season-opener, before dropping a tough 1-0 eight-inning affair to MCLA in their nightcap on Day One of the NTC Games.

THE BASICS

Game One: UMass Boston 8, Coast Guard 5

Game Two: MCLA 1, UMass Boston 0 (8 Innings)

(UMass Boston 1-1)

(Coast Guard 4-6)

(MCLA 1-1) 

HOW IT HAPPENED

After falling behind 5-2 through five innings, UMass Boston used a six-run top of the sixth inning to defeat Coast Guard and to earn a win in their season opener.

In the nightcap, Annie Thomas (Lunenburg, Mass.) went pitch-for-pitch with MCLA ace Rachel Quackenbush. The two pitchers kept the game scoreless through the regulation seven innings, before MCLA scratched across a run in the top of the eighth thanks to a wild pitch.

Game One

Freshmen Taylor Marcotte (Agawam, Mass.) and Roxanne Vento (Arlington, Mass.) led the way in game one, as the the pair each finished with two hits. Marcotte added a run and the go-ahead RBI, while Vento finished with two RBI and two runs scored.

Freshman center fielder Taylor Pawlina (Woonsocket, R.I.) tacked on a double and a run scored. 

The Beacons took a brief 2-1 lead in the second, as Vento drove in Gia Raczkowski (Stoneham, Mass.) with an RBI double and Lauren Mitsiaris (Taunton, Mass.) added a sacrifice fly. 

Coast Guard would answer right back with a four-run bottom of the third, as the Bears scored four runs on six hits and an error. Cherokee Strickland had the big hit, with a go-ahead, two-run single to center field. 

After going down 1-2-3 in the third, fourth and fifth, the Beacons erupted for six runs of their own in the top of the sixth inning. Pawlina started the scoring with an RBI double and came into score with two outs on a Vento single. With the Beacons trailing by one, Vic Zechello (Westborough, Mass.) tied the game up with an RBI single to centerfield. 

Marcotte drove in Jackie Flynn (Braintree, Mass.) to make it 6-5 UMass Boston, before sophomore Morgan Bishop (Ramsey, N.J.) gave the Beacons some much needed insurance with a two-run double to left field.

Thomas picked up the win in the opener, as she pitched the final two innings, after coming on in relief of Zechello. 

GAME TWO

Game two was a pitcher's duel, as the two pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts and allowed just one run. 

Quackenbush, who was a First Team All-MASCAC selection last year, allowed just two hits and struck out nine for a shutout in MCLA's season-opener.

Thomas was nearly as strong, as the freshman struck out a career-high nine batters in her first collegiate start. The freshman right-hander scattered seven hits and four walks, and allowed just the one unearned run.

Freshman shortstop Alexa St. Angelo (Cranston, R.I.) was the only Beacon to get a hit against Quackenbush, as she finished 2-for-3 with a double.

Thomas worked her way in-and-out of trouble throughout the contest, as she stranded the bases loaded in the third and fifth innings. She also got some strong defensive play behind her, as the Beacons turned a 6-4-3 double play in the third and Raczkowski mowed down a runner trying to go from first to third in the second inning.

MCLA finally broke through in the eighth inning, in part due to the extra-inning rule. With a runner placed on second base to start the inning, MCLA put down a sacrifice bunt to move the runner over and then Katie Berghela scampered home on a wild pitch in the dirt. The Trailblazers would put two more runners on, but Thomas induced a groundout to end the inning.   

In the bottom half of the inning, Vento started the inning on second and moved over to third on a wild pitch with two outs. Quackenbush was able to get a game-ending groundout to seal the win. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Seven Beacons freshmen made their collegiate debuts on Day One of the NTC Games. 
• Thomas and Zechello combined to allow just two earned runs over 15 innings. 
• With their win over Coast Guard, UMass Boston improved to 1-1 all-time against the Bears.
• The Beacons fell to 0-2 all-time against MCLA, as the Trailblazers defeated UMass Boston 8-0 in five innings last year in Florida. 

WHO'S NEXT 

UMass Boston will resume action on Sunday, as they take on Ripon College at 5 p.m. and Western New England University at 7 p.m.