Springfield, Mass. – March 15, 2024 - The Springfield College softball team played for the first time this season on Potter Field and earned a victory and tie against Eastern Connecticut State on Friday afternoon. The Pride walked off with a 1-0 win in eight innings in the opener before the second game of the twinbill was called due to darkness with the score knotted at 4-4.
Springfield, now 9-2-1 on the season, will next play on Wednesday when it travels to take on Keene State for a 3 pm doubleheader.
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Game One - Springfield 1, ECSU 0 (8 inn.)
In the opening game of the doubleheader,
Emily Whelan (Hopkinton, Mass.) accounted for three of the Pride's seven hits
and
Amelia DeRosa (Miller Place, N.Y.) tossed eight innings of shutout softball while scattering eight hits to earn the win.
The teams each stranded runners on second and third in the second inning, while the Pride had a baserunner thrown out a home in the fourth and could not plate a run in the fifth despite loading the bases. Springfield would scratch out the game's only run in the eighth as
Callie Gendron (Berlin, Conn.) sacrificed
Marissa Seyfert (Farmingdale, N.Y.) to third to get things going.
Michaela Ponticello (Gloversville, N.Y.) followed by earning a walk and stealing second before Whelan delivered an infield single. With the bases juiced,
Breannah McCann (Poway, Calif.) came through with a sacrifice fly to center to plate Seyfert for the walk off win.
Game Two- Springfield 4, ECSU 4
Each team had eight hits in the second game of the day, with Ponticello and
Carissa Pecchia (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) each accounting for a pair of hits for the Pride.
Ashley Pugliese (Long Island, N.Y.) went the distance, throwing seven innings and giving up three earned runs in the no decision.
Springfield struck first in the fourth as Pecchia led off with a walk and Ponticello followed by belting a two-run shot to right center. The Pride later loaded up the bases in the frame, but was unable to add to its lead as ECSU was able to get the final two outs of the frame.
Pugliese got out of trouble in the fifth with runners on the corners with just one out to keep the game scoreless and Pecchia responded with a solo shot to left center to push the hosts advantage to 3-0. After the visitors got a run back in the sixth, Seyfert led off the bottom half with a triple and would score on a base knock by McCann to make it 4-1.
However, ECSU would rally for three runs in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run triple, as the game would conclude in a tie due to darkness after the Pride was unable to score in the bottom half.
