By Kevin Anderson, Clark University SID
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
WORCESTER, Mass. -- Clark and visiting Bridgewater State split a pair of non-league softball contests on Saturday afternoon, as the Bears claimed game one 7-5 in ten innings and the Cougars took the victory in the nightcap, 2-1.
Clark improves to 11-3 overall, while the Bears move to 6-5 on the season.
Game one moved by at a brisk pace as starters Sarah Carter (Worcester, Mass.) and Megan Dunn (Colchester, Conn.) controlled the contest with excellent pitching.
Bridgewater State had either team’s best chance to scratch across a run in the top of the sixth when leadoff hitter Tracey Sanko (Windsor, Conn.) tripled to right field but she was erased on a play at the plate for the inning’s first out.
The Bears finally broke through in the top of the ninth when they put two runs across on run-scoring hits by Meghan Noyes (Stoughton, Mass.) and Kate Youngstrom (Holden, Mass.).
Clark evened the game with some dramatics in the bottom of the frame. Mel Melkonian (Worcester, Mass.), who made several spectacular defensive plays at third base, scored from second base on a pair of wild pitches by Dunn to make the score 2-1. Then, Darcey Kurashige-Elliott (Berkeley, Calif.) launched her second homerun in as many days with her team-leading third roundtripper of the season.
Bridgewater bounced back to take the lead again in the top of the tenth when they plated five runs, highlighted by a Noyes three-run homerun to dead center field.
Clark didn’t go quietly in the bottom of the tenth as Meghan Lennon (Charlton, Mass.) drove in a run on an RBI single, making the score 7-3.
After a walk and a pop out loaded the bases, it appeared as if the Cougars had tied the game when Melissa Traft (Milton, Mass.) sent a deep fly to left field that hit the top of the fence but the ball fell back into play and wound up as a two-run single.
Reliever Kaitlin Morelli (Milford, Mass.), who entered the game at the top of the inning, got the final two outs to end the game.
Game two moved along as quickly as the first game did as both starting pitchers –Clark’s Nicole Meuse (Hudson, Mass.) and Jaime Ducinski (Duxbury, Mass.) were sharp from the outset.
The only blemish for Meuse came in the first as she yielded a triple and an RBI single, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead.
Clark eventually tied the game in the fourth on an RBI single by Stefanie Kettenacker (Hastings-on-the-Hudson, N.Y.) which plated Kurashige-Elliott who reached on an error.
The Cougars took the lead in the fifth when Lennon doubled to right center to lead off the inning and Lauren Blake (Oakland, Maine) singled to center. Melkonian then reached on an error, scoring Lennon with the go-ahead run.
Bridgewater State committed five errors in the doubleheader which led to four unearned runs. Through 11 games this season, the Bears have been charged with 21 errors which have resulted in 16 unearned runs.
Meuse moved to 4-1 on the season with the complete game victory, scattering four hits and striking out three.
Clark will have six days off until they return to the diamond with a home contest with Smith, while the Bears host Wheaton on Tuesday.