Springfield, Mass. – April 6, 2010 – The Springfield College softball team dropped the opener of its doubleheader to Eastern Connecticut State, 3-0, in eight innings on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon at Potter Field. ECSU then fought back from a 5-0 deficit in the second game to win, 8-7. The Warriors’ Molly Rathbun earned the victory in game #1, then earned the save in game #2, striking out 19 on the day.
With the wins, ECSU is now 13-3, while the Pride falls to 11-12.
In game #1, it was a pitchers’ dual between Rathbun of Eastern Connecticut State and Katie Anderson of Springfield. After seven innings, it was a scoreless tie. But in the eighth inning, the Warriors pushed across three runs, all scoring with two outs. With a runner on third, Priscilla Alicea knocked home the game’s first run when she looped one into left field. Following a Kim Church single, Rathbun then doubled to left to knock in two important insurance runs. In the bottom of the inning, Rathbun struck out the side, registering 13 strikeouts for the contest overall. In eight innings of work, she gave up only two hits.
In the second game, Springfield jumped out to a 5-0 lead after just one inning. After three of the first four batters walked, SC’s Bryn Worrilow doubled to left center, scoring two runs. A moment later, Liz Milly doubled to right, knocking in two more. That knocked out ECSU starter Kassondra Silva. who was replaced by Christine Akcers. Before the inning was over, Caitlin Corry singled in the fifth run.
But in the top of the second, ECSU answered with four runs of its own. Arielle Cooper knocked in the first run on a ground ball. Later in the inning, Rosie Manzo singled in two more.
The Warriors tied it up in the fifth on a Rathbun double and later a Kate O’Toole ground out.
In the fifth inning, ECSU added three more. A walk, two errors, then two singles all added up to what proved to be the winning runs. A Rathbun single produced the final tally for ECSU.
In the last of the fourth, SC closed the gap to a single run as Michelle Wlosek and Worrilow knocked in consecutive runs to make it 8-7. Rathbun then came on to pitch in the bottom of the fourth, and effectively shut down SC the rest of the way. Rathbun picked up the save, her first of the season, after registering her eighth win in game #1. SC starter Stef Grande took the loss, and is now 4-8.
Springfield is now off until Friday afternoon (Apr. 9) when it travels for a NEWMAC doubleheader to Babson, scheduled to begin at 3:30 pm.
