BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting UMass Dartmouth softball team swept a non-conference doubleheader on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Park.
UMass won the first game in come-from-behind fashion, 11-10, and completed the sweep with a 17-6 victory in the nightcap.
The visiting Corsairs improve to 15-5 with the pair of wins, while the host Bears fall to 6-10.
Game One
Trailing 9-2 after two innings of play, UMass rallied for three runs in the third inning, two in the fourth and three in the fifth to take a 10-9 lead. After the Bears tied it in the bottom of the sixth on a Shannon Grindle (Halifax, Mass.) home run, Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.) knocked in the game-winning run in the top of the seventh with an RBI double.
Kylie Fletcher (Dighton, Mass.) went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, a run and six RBI to highlight the UMD offense in game one. Fletcher raked a two-double in the first inning, connected for a three-run homer in the third and added a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Cierra Sheerin (Bridgewater, Mass.) went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and two RBI for the Corsairs who banged out 13 hits in game one and were issued six walks. Colton finished 2-for-5 with a double, a run and two RBI.
Annika Evensen (Lake Forest, Calif.) tossed three solid innings of relief to pick up the win. Evensen (2-1) allowed a run on just one hit (a home run) with no walks and four strikeouts.
Madison Synan (Quincy, Mass.) paced the Bears' ten-hit attack as she went 3-for-4 with her first collegiate home run, two runs and three RBI. Synan belted a three-run blast to highlight a nine-run second inning. Grindle finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run, walk, three runs and an RBI. The home run marked her team-leading fifth of the season. Samantha Mulcahy (Taunton, Mass.) checked in with two hits in four at bats as she scored a run and drove in two.
Game Two
The UMD bats exploded for 17 runs on 17 hits and nine walks in game two as the Corsairs cruised to the 17-6 win.
Sheerin went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, four runs scored and five RBI, while Lexi Perreira (Middleboro, Mass.) was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run (three-run blast), two walks, a run and five RBI. Leah Major (Fairhaven, Mass.) also contributed three hits for the Corsairs as she went 3-for-4 with three runs and an RBI, while Jill Richards (Kingston, Mass.) singled, walked twice and delivered a sacrifice fly in five plate appearances. Richards scored a run and knocked in three.
Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) worked the first five innings in the circle to record the win for UMass. Smith (6-3) gave up six runs (three earned) on eight hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
Alexandra Ruprecht (Kingston, Mass.) led the way for Bridgewater State in game two as she went 2-for-3 with her first collegiate home run. Ruprecht scored two runs and knocked in two. Grindle doubled and scored two runs in three at bats, while Synan went 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday afternoon at one with conference doubleheaders. The Bears entertain MASCAC rival Worcester State University, while the Corsair host Little East foe Western Connecticut State University.