MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Freshman infielder Lauren Miner made her collegiate debut with a bang on Saturday morning for UMass Boston Softball, going 2-for-2 with a home run, a triple, a walk, and three RBIs to help propel the Beacons to a 6-2 victory over University of Scranton in their first game of the spring break trip.  

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 6, University of Scranton 2

UMass Boston (1-0)

University of Scranton (1-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Junior pitcher Bri Melchionda walked the bases loaded to start the game before coming back to strike out two of the next four batters she faced. Freshman pitcher Soleil Dooner, who started the game for Scranton, recorded the first run of the game on an RBI groundout to senior first baseman Jordan Toomey. The Beacons responded when Miner recorded her first collegiate hit and home run to dead center field, a two-run shot, to give UMass Boston the lead, 2-1.

Sophomore outfielder Alyssa Mosconi would tie the game up for the Royals with an RBI groundout in the third inning as through 2 2/3 innings Melchionda had yet to give up a hit in the 2-2 ballgame until Dooner's single up the middle in the next at bat.
Melchionda would help her cause in the fourth, leading off the inning with a double before back-to-back triples from sophomore utility Amauri English and Miner helped the Beacons reclaim the lead, 4-2.

Tacking on two more runs in the sixth inning, after Miner reached base for the third time in the game and junior infielder Lauryn Bethea's single, UMass Boston stretched their lead to four runs after an errant throw allowed one run to score and freshman outfielder Sofie Richland's second hit of the day was an RBI single to make it 6-2 with one inning to play.

Working around a leadoff triple, Melchionda shut the door on UMass Boston's first win of the season by a final score of 6-2, settling down after a rocky first inning to notch her first win in the circle this year.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• In seven complete innings, Bri Melchionda allowed two runs on four hits while striking out nine and walking seven
• At the plate, Bri Melchionda was 1-for-2 on the day with a double and two walks
• Sofie Richland finished 2-for-4 at the plate in the leadoff spot for UMass Boston with an RBI
• UMass Boston left just five runners on base in the game while Scranton stranded 10

 
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will take on Wilson College later this afternoon in the second game of their doubleheader today. The Beacons defeated the Phoenix last year during their spring break trip, 1-0, behind a shutout performance from now junior pitcher Emily Doble.