Softball Falls In Friday Twinbill To Western Connecticut, 6-2 and 14-7

Worcester, MA --- Western Connecticut senior Nina Wojtkiewicz (Griswold, CT) hammered three home runs and she accounted for six RBIs to help pace the Colonials to a 6-2 and 14-7 sweep this afternoon in non-league softball action at Rockwood Park.

With the two wins, West Conn improves to 20-12 while the Lancers fall to 19-11.

As the score was knotted up 2-2 in the top of the seventh of the opener, senior Julia Bocek (Southington, CT) belted a solo homer to ignite a four-run rally which culminated in a two-run pinch-hit dinger by junior Michaela Roche (Bristol, CT) and a RBI single by Wojtkiewicz.

Colonial freshman Samantha Anthony (Ellington, CT) hurled a scoreless seventh to earn the victory. Anthony (2-1) permitted two unearned runs on five hits to go with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.

Worcester State originally claimed the early 1-0 margin in the bottom of the second as senior Alyssa Hill (Erving, MA) scampered home on an errant throw by the catcher after she swiped third.

In the very next frame, Wojtkiewicz put her squad ahead by one on her sixth homer of the season.

The Lancers, however, scored the equalizer for the 2-2 contest on a run scoring single by junior Hayley Terry (N. Dighton, MA) with two outs in the third.

Anthony and freshman Julie Melanson (Gardner, MA) locked in for a pitcher's duel for three scoreless stanzas until Melanson ran out of gas in the seventh.

In her second complete game of the campaign, Melanson (1-4) surrendered six runs (four earned) on seven hits and she finished with a pair of strikeouts.

Western Connecticut ended the contest with a 7-5 edge in hits as Wojtkiewicz led the way with two and Terry added two singles for the Lancers.

In the nightcap, the game had the early makings of a slugfest as the Colonials took over the 2-0 margin in the top of the first on a two-run shot by Wojtkiewicz.

Worcester State came right back by taking over the 4-2 advantage. After Terry and sophomore Rachel Couto (Chelmsford, MA) rapped out consecutive RBI singles, two more tallies came home on a dropped fly ball by the right fielder.

West Conn, however, answered in the top of the second and the visitors tied up the score on a rare sacrifice fly that scored two runs. Wojtkiewicz put the ball in play and senior Taylor Hanley (Wilmington, MA) made a remarkable diving catch to rob her of extra bases.

The Colonials took over the 6-4 edge on a two-run pinch-hit single by junior Emily Cintorino (Bristol, CT) as two outs were in the top of the third.

Worcester State responded by scoring three times in the bottom half of the same stanza. Taking advantage of a misplayed ball by the shortstop, Terry and Couto both touched home plate for the second time in the game and Pelletier tacked on another score on an RBI single.

Western Connecticut, however, took over the 9-7 margin for good on a three-run blast by Roche for her second of the twin bill.

The visitors put the game out of reach with five more runs over the final three frames of play.

Senior Erin Biskup (Poughkeepsie, NY) and junior Maegan Rodriguez (E. Haven, CT) highlighted the scoring on RBI singles in the fifth and freshman Jenna Gaudioso (E. Haven, CT) smashed her third home run of the campaign in the seventh on a pinch-hit at-bat.

Cintorino (9-4) earned the victory in the circle as she allowed seven runs to cross the plate (six unearned). She also notched seven strikeouts and issued two free passes while junior Alle Sabith (Meriden, CT) recorded her second stop of the season for firing three scoreless frames of one-hit softball to finish the game.

Sophomore Mary McKeown (Shrewsbury, MA) absorbed the loss as she fell to 2-2 in the setback.

Roche went 4-for-5 with four RBIs, Anthony was 3-for-4 and she scored twice as Biskup had three hits in four plate appearances to propel a 18 hit attack.

Couto was perfect at the plate, registering four of WSU's six base-knocks.

Both squads will finish their regular-season conference slates on the road tomorrow. Worcester State takes on MCLA in a 1 PM meeting while Western Connecticut makes the trek to Southern Maine with first pitch slated for high noon.

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