BOSTON, Mass.—Freshman pitcher Brianna Melchionda (Marshfield, Mass.) came up huge in the circle and at the plate in game one and UMass Boston rallied from a two-run deficit in game two, on Thursday afternoon at the UMB Softball Field. 
 
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 6, Rhode Island College 5
UMass Boston 4, Rhode Island College 4 (Suspended after 8 innings) 
(UMass Boston 3-8, Little East 3-8) 
(Rhode Island College 7-17, Little East 2-11) 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Melchionda struck out a career-high 11 batters and came through with a go-ahead two-run single to put the Beacons in the lead for good in game one. 
 
The Beacons trailed 4-2 into the sixth inning of game two, before they scored one run in each of the final two innings of regulation and kept the Anchorwomen off the board in the eighth. The game was suspended after the eighth inning due to a lack of sunlight. 
 
GAME ONE RECAP 
 
Melchionda was dominant and the Beacons did just enough offensively to snap a six-game losing streak in the opener. 
 
The freshman pitcher scattered eight hits and five earned runs, while striking out 11 and walking two. She became the first pitcher in program history to strike out double-digit batters in consecutive games with her 11 K's. At the plate, she finished 2-3 with a run scored and two RBI, while reaching all three times. 
 
Junior Britney Perkett (Pittsfield, Mass.) added two hits and two runs scored, while Sarah Harlinski (Sturbridge, Mass.) tacked on two hits and a run scored. Junior Alley Diaute (Braintree, Mass.) added a pair of RBI and Kelly Danahy (Kingston, Mass.) worked two walks and scored twice. 
 
Rhode Island College freshman pitcher Caitlin Lopez took the loss after allowing seven hits and six earned runs in six innings of work. 
 
Left fielder Julie Vincent led the visitors offensively with two hits and three RBI. 
 
UMass Boston jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first. Perkett started the rally with a one-out bunt single, stole second and raced home on back-to-back wild pitches. Danahy followed with a walk and Melchionda singled, before both players moved up on a double steal. With two outs, Diaute ripped a single to right-center to score both runners. 
 
Rhode Island College tied the game in the top of the fourth. With one out, Alexis Boyce doubled and the Anchorwomen loaded the bases with a walk and a single. After a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Vincent came through with a two-run single and Avery Katz followed with a game-tying RBI single of her own. Melchionda ended the threat with a strikeout to strand two Anchorwomen on base. 
 
The Beacons took the lead for good in the fifth. UMass Boston loaded the bases with one out on singles from Harlinski and Perkett and a Danahy walk. Melchionda took the first pitch she saw and ripped a single up the middle to plate Harlinski and Perkett. Tam Landry (Leominster, Mass.) drove in Danahy with a groundout to second to make it 6-3. 
 
Rhode Island College cut the deficit to 6-4 in the sixth. Faith Turinese reached on a bunt single and raced home on a Vincent RBI double to right-center. 
 
The Anchorwomen nearly tied the game in the seventh. With two outs, Amber Wainwright reached on an infield single. Boyce plated pinch runner Shannon McDonald with an RBI double. Melchionda closed out the game with a called strike three to leave the tying run at second base. 
 
GAME TWO RECAP 
 
UMass Boston came from 1-0 and 4-2 deficits to force extra innings and keep their playoff hopes alive. 
 
Caley Ruggiero (Soutbury, Conn.), Danahy and Perkett each have two hits thus far in the game. Ruggiero is 2-4 with two runs scored and a triple, Danahy is 2-3 with a pair of RBI and a double and Perkett has two hits and a run scored. 
 
In the circle, UMass Boston used three different pitchers. Emily Doble (Danvers, Mass.), Meghan Adams (Portsmouth, N.H.) and Elayna Jacques (North Kingstown, R.I.) each went multiple innings. The trio combined to limit the Anchorwomen to 12 hits and four runs (two earned). 

Rhode Island College freshman Tatiana Burcy went the full eight innings in her return to Boston. The Beantown native scattered eight hits and four runs scored, while striking out a career-high seven batters. 
 
The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Katz reached on a bunt single, advanced to second on a passed ball, tagged up on a fly ball to move to third and scored on a Beacons' throwing error. With two on and one out, Sydney Sanden (Riverton, Conn.) made a great diving catch for the second out and Doble induced another groundout to keep the game at 1-0. 
 
UMass Boston tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Ruggiero ripped a triple to right field to lead off and came in on a Danahy grounder to short, when the shortstop's throw to the plate was late. 
 
The Beacons took a brief lead in the third. Ruggiero led off with a single, stole second and took third on a Perkett sac bunt. She easily scored on Danahy's sacrifice fly.
 
After leaving six runners on through the first three innings, Rhode Island College took the lead in the top of the fourth. Alexis Belle and Vincent opened the inning with back-to-back singles and Katz tied the game on an RBI single. Callie Rathbun gave the visitors the lead with an RBI groundout to score Vincent. The damage could have been worse, but the next batter hit a grounder to second and Danahy's throw home beat Katz trying to score for the second out of the inning. 
 
UMass Boston cut it to 4-3 in the sixth. Landry led off the inning with a walk, took second on a groundout and moved to third on a wild pitch. Sanden came through with her first collegiate RBI, a single to third base that scored Landry. 
 
The Beacons tied the game in the seventh inning. Perkett led off with a bunt single and raced to third on Danahy's double. Burcy almost got the Anchorwomen out of the inning unscathed. She induced a grounder back to the circle and got a strikeout to keep the runners at second and third with two outs. With two strikes on Diaute, a pitch got away from the catcher allowing Perkett to score the tying run. 
 
Rhode Island College got off to a great start to the top of the eight. LeBelle ripped a lead-off single, but she was erased on a fielder's choice, when Jacques fielded a ball back to the circle and threw out the runner going to second. Jacques got the next two batters to foul out and strike out to keep the game tied. 
 
UMass Boston went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth and at that point the umpires decided there wasn't enough light left to finish a full inning. The two teams will resume the game in the top of the ninth inning at a date to be determined, if the conclusion of the game impacts next week's Little East Conference Tournament. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Melchionda is only the second pitcher in program history to record three double-digit strikeout games. She joins Kaera Wyse ('15) who posted three double-digit strikeouts games as a freshman in 2015. 
• With their game one win, UMass Boston snapped a season-high, six-game losing streak. 
• Danahy saw her 10-game hitting streak come to an end in game one after going 0-1 with two walks. She has still reached base in every game this season (12-12).
• UMass Boston improved 11-54-1 all-time against Rhode Island College. The Beacons have won eight of the past 10 meetings. 
• Perkett finished the day 4-6 with three runs scored and two stolen bases. 
• UMass Boston finished 8-9 on the base paths in the doubleheader. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
UMass Boston will travel to Keene State College for a crucial Little East Conference doubleheader on Friday at 3/5 p.m. The Beacons stand one win behind Keene State (4-10) going into the weekend, with the Owls tied with Western Connecticut State University (4-8) for the sixth and final spot in the Little East Conference Tournament.