North Myrtle Beach, S.C. (March 18, 2025) – The Beacons' softball team (6-0) improved to an unbeaten sixth-consecutive win following their day-three sweep from North Myrtle Beach, S.C., against Saint Joseph's University of Long Island (5-3) and Hartwick College (1-3). The Beacons won game one against SJLI 13-5 in six innings and outlasted Hartwick 5-0 in game two.

Alexis Fleischer (San Diego, Calif.) and Izzy Levasseur (Amesbury, Mass.) held the Golden Eagles to just five runs on six hits. Fleischer started the first 3.2 innings, and Levasseur closed the final 2.1 to combine for five total strikeouts.

Against Hartwick, Jacqueline Cherry (Franklin, Mass.) pitched all seven innings against 25 batters; she struck out 13 total and allowed zero runs on two hits in a monster performance on the mound.
 

How it Happened:

Game One vs Saint Joseph's Long Island (13-5)

Amauri English (North Providence, R.I.) put the Beacons on the board to initiate scoring for UMass Boston with an RBI double to left field, scoring both Haley Tilberry (Moosic, Penn.) and Sofie Richland (South Burlington, Vt.).

Richland scored Ella Delisle (Amesbury, Mass.) on a bunt that created enough chaos to force an error, allowing Delisle to take two bags on her way to home plate. Delisle's run was the first of four to initiate a second-inning four-run rally. English drove in Richland for the second time in the game with a two-out RBI single to left center. Hayley Krockta (Taunton, Mass.) added the final run of the second inning with an RBI double that brought Lauren Miner (Millbury, Mass.) home from second.

Mya Perron (Beverly, Mass.) made it 5-0 in the fifth inning when she forced an overthrow attempting to steal third, allowing her to safely come across.

After conceding five runs in the fourth inning, the Beacons responded by adding four runs on four hits in the fifth. Gracie Granger (Paxton, Mass.) laced the inning's first RBI with a one-out, two-RBI single to center field that brought in Levasseur and Mary Matthews (Wilsonville, Ore.) on singles. Tilberry and Perron added two more on the base path on an overthrow at the plate.

Natalia Fotopoulos (Arlington, Mass.) scored the game's final two runs to run-rule the Golden Eagles. She drove in Levasseur on a single to left and later scored to make the Beacons' lead grow to eight on the drop third strike to Avery Weinstein (Winnetka, IL.).

By the Numbers:

• 10 different Beacons recorded a hit in the win, led by Perron and English with two apiece. English batted in a team-high three RBIs.
• Perron and three other Beacons, including Richland, Levasseur, and Tilberry, scored a team-high two UMass Boston runs.
• English, Delisle, and Krockta each batted for extra bases, turning singles into doubles to add to their season totals.
• The Beacons stole nine total bags, led by Perron with three and Miner and Fotopoulos with two each.
• UMass Boston was 12-29 with nine RBIs offensively and recorded 18 putouts and seven assists, led by Krockta and Delisle with four putouts each.

Game Two vs Hartwick (5-0)
 

Cherry pitched all seven innings from start to finish against Hartwick College. While on the mound, she struck out 13 of the 25 batters she faced in a shutout performance with just two allowed hits.

English drove in Richland for the game's first run on a single up the middle. Richland scored again in the second inning off an error at the plate.

Tilberry scored Richland again in the fifth inning to make it a 3-0 game with an RBI single to right field. English later brought Tilberry home with an RBI single up the middle to make it 4-0.

Richland's double in the sixth inning scored Matthews for an insurance run, as the Beacons sealed the deal 5-0 to make it four straight to begin the 2025 season.

By the Numbers:

• Richland was 3-4 with three runs scored and an RBI in the win, accounting for four of five total UMass Boston runs scored.
• English led the team in game two with two RBIs, going 2-3 at the plate.
• Richland set a new program record on the base path, with five stolen bases against Hartwick. She now holds the record for most stolen bases in a single game, beating out the previously set record of four, most recently in 2002.
• Joining Richland with stolen bases were Tilberry, Miner, Matthews, and Granger, each with one.

The Beacons look to remain undefeated in North Myrtle Beach, as their next two games are slated for 9:00 a.m. against the University of Maine, Presque Isle, followed by game two against the University of Maine Farmington at 11:00 a.m.

—FOR THE TIMES—