BOSTON, Mass.—UMass Boston softball earned a walk-off win on Opening Day to earn a Little East Conference split with Castleton University at the UMB Softball Field.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 5, Castleton University 4
Castleton University 7, UMass Boston 2
(UMass Boston 1-1, Little East 1-1)
(Castleton 7-5, Little East 4-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the fourth time in the first five meetings between the two programs, UMass Boston earned a walk-off win over the Spartans (game one). Heading into the seventh inning down 4-2, each of the first five Beacons reached base to load the bases for senior Tori Dicenso (Lynn, Mass.). Dicenso lifted a fly ball to right field and sophomore Tam Landry (Leominster, Mass.) beat the throw home to lift the Beacons to a game one win.
Castleton jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning in game two and hung on despite a strong collegiate pitching debut from Brianna Melchionda (Marshfield, Mass.). Melchionda came on in relief and allowed just two unearned runs in 6.1 innings.
GAME ONE RECAP
Castleton took a 4-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning, only for the Beacons to rally for a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh inning.
Junior Caley Ruggiero (Soutbury, Conn.) led the Beacons offensively with two hits, a walk and a pair of runs scored. Senior Drew Washington (Bordentown, N.J.) added two hits and a run of her own, while Britney Perkett (Pittsfield, Mass.) tacked on two hits of her own.
In the circle, junior Hayley Catania (Amesbury, Mass.) kept the Beacons in the game in her first collegiate Opening Game start. Catania pitched the first six innings and scattered seven hits and four earned runs. Freshman Emily Doble (Danvers, Mass.) earned the win in relief by allowing one walk in a scoreless collegiate debut.
Machaila Arjavich, Jamie Boyle and Allison Almond each finished with two hits for the Spartans and combined for two runs scored and an RBI. Reliever Olivia Joy took the loss after allowing four hits, three earned runs and a walk in two-thirds of an inning.
UMass Boston got off to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Ruggiero worked a one-out walk and came all the way home from first base on Melchionda's two-out RBI double.
Castleton responded immediately in the top of the second. Boyle led off the frame with a double and scored with two outs on Kayla Fac's sacrifice fly to center field.
The Spartans took the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Jayna Ryan worked a one-out walk and raced home on Kate LaPan's double to center field.
UMass Boston loaded up the bases with one out in the bottom of the frame, but Castleton starting pitcher Katie Gallagher induced a pop up to short and a liner right at the left fielder to get out of the jam unscathed.
Castleton extended their advantage with two more runs in the top of the sixth. Arjavich and Boyle opened the inning with back-to-back singles and moved up to second and third on a sac bunt. Almond plated pinch runner Erin Ricks with a one-out RBI single and Boyle scampered home on a wild pitch with two down.
UMass Boston began their comeback effort in the bottom of the inning. Washington tripled to right center to lead off the inning and easily scored on Sarah Harlinski's (Sturbridge, Mass.) sacrifice fly.
The Beacons put the game away in the bottom of the seventh.
Ruggiero opened the inning with a leadoff single and moved up to second base on a throwing error on the play. Senior Kelly Danahy (Kingston, Mass.) cut the deficit to 4-3 with an RBI single that plated Ruggiero. Landry followed with an RBI double of her own to score Danahy and tie the game.
The Spartans intentionally walked Melchionda with first base open, but Washington beat out an infield single to load the bases with no outs. Dicenso closed out the game with a fly ball to medium right field, as Landry slid into home plate before the throw could make it to the catcher.
GAME TWO RECAP
Castleton took a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning and used a strong start from Olivia Joy to earn the split.
Joy threw a complete-game and allowed just 10 hits, no walks and two earned runs. She also struck out four batters.
Danahy led the Beacons offensively by going 3-3 with a run scored. Perkett added two more hits and a run scored out of the nine-hole.
In the circle, Doble took the loss, after being charged with four hits, two walks and five earned runs. Melchionda came on in relief and limited the Spartans bats for the final 6.1 innings. She gave up five hits, two unearned runs, four walks and struck out eight.
Makenna Thorne and Fac each finished 2-4 with an RBI to lead the Spartans offensively.
Castleton scored five runs on four hits, two walks and a hit by pitch in the top of the first. Thorne opened the scoring with an RBI single to score LaPan. With the baes loaded and two outs, Olivia Bowen worked a bases-loaded walk, Fac followed with an infield single and Ryan blew the game open with a two-run single up the middle.
UMass Boston cut the deficit to three in the bottom of the third. Perkett led off the inning with a bunt single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Danahy plated Perkett with an RBI single to center and she raced home on a two-out RBI single from Washington. With the tying run at the plate, Joy came up with a big strikeout to keep the game at 5-2.
The Spartans earned the two runs back in the top of the sixth inning. Castleton loaded the bases with no outs and scored two runs on an a Beacons error when the ball was thrown away trying to get the lead runner. Melchionda beared down from there, getting a grounder to second, a flyout to left and a strikeout.
UMass Boston put a runner in scoring position in the sixth and seventh innings but couldn't find a way to cut into the deficit.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Sunday's contest marked the Beacons' first game in 715 days. Today's opener was the latest opener in program history by one day, after the Beacons opened the 1982 season on April 17th.
- With the split, UMass Boston now leads the all-time series 4-2 over the Spartans. UMass Boston has earned a walk-off win in all four wins (all at the UMB Softball Field). Since Castleton joined the Little East Conference in 2019, the two teams have split both doubleheaders.
- Seven different Beacons made their collegiate debut in the season-opening doubleheader.
- Dicenso has two of the Beacons' four walk-off RBI against Castleton. She had an RBI single to right field in 2018 in the first-ever meeting between the two programs (6-5 Beacons win).
- Danahy and Perkett each led the Beacons with four hits in six at-bats on the day. All ten Beacons who had an at-bat in the doubleheader recorded at least one hit.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will begin a four-game road trip on Thursday, when they travel to take on Western Connecticut State University at 4 and 6 p.m.
