MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME SOFTBALL

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Pine Manor Field, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

GAME #1 FINAL:          PINE MANOR 11, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 10

GAME #2 FINAL:          MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 16, PINE MANOR 7 (6 INNINGS)

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. --  Freshman Emily Goodwin (Halifax, Mass.) homered and drove in three runs to lead Massachusetts Maritime to a 16-7 six inning nightcap victory and a split of a non-league college softball doubleheader with Pine Manor on Thursday afternoon at Pine Manor Field, as the host Gators received a three-run walk off homer from freshman Amber Schuman in the bottom of the seventh to claim an 11-10 opening game triumph.

The visiting Buccaneers (2-12) struck for seven runs in their first at-bat of the second contest, as two-run doubles by senior Brittany Driscoll (Spencer, Mass.) and sophomore Haley Delahanty (Holden, Mass.) were sandwiched by an RBI single off the bat of senior Cassie Sanderson (North Dighton, Mass.) and freshman Brooke Miles’s (Lynn, Mass.) run-scoring double.  The host Gators (5-7) used two-run rallies in the first and third frames to close back to 7-4 on freshman Ashley Huber’s two-run homer, but Massachusetts Maritime put together its second seven-run uprising in the fifth to take control of the contest.  Sophomore Kaylene Murphy’s (Randolph, Mass.) two-run triple was followed by Sanderson’s RBI three bagger, and after freshman Rachel Gardner (Bourne, Mass.) singled home the fourth run of the inning, Goodwin belted a three-run round-tripper (the first of her career) to give the visitors a 14-4 cushion.  Pine Manor got three runs back in the bottom half of the inning on Huber’s second homer of the nightcap (a three-run shot), but the Buccaneers iced their triumph on sophomore Carli Thomas’s (Brewster, Mass.) two-run single that closed out the scoring and salvaged the twinbill split.

Goodwin, Murphy, Sanderson and Gardner each had three hits as part of a season-high 21-hit nightcap attack for Massachusetts Maritime, which also received two hits from both Driscoll and Delahanty.  Thomas helped her own cause with three hits at the plate while going the distance inside the circle for the Buccaneers, as she struck out six to earn her second triumph of the season.  Huber rapped out three hits overall and drove in six runs in the second game setback for Pine Manor, which also received two hits each from senior Chardonai Rose and freshman Brittny Desmond.  Schuman, who also collected two hits for the Gators, went the distance in suffering the setback inside the circle for the hosts.

The two teams combined for seven runs in the first inning of the opener, as Pine Manor grabbed an early 4-3 edge on the strength of Huber’s two-run double.  Massachusetts Maritime stormed back to take an 8-4 advantage in the third frame, as a Thomas two-run double that was followed by Gardner’s RBI two-bagger highlighted a three-run second inning that was followed by Driscoll’s two-run double in the visitors’ next at-bat.  The Gators closed back to within one in the bottom of the sixth on Schuman’s two-run double and an RBI groundout by Rose, but the Buccaneers received another two-run two-bagger from Driscoll in the top of the seventh to take a 10-7 cushion into the bottom half of the inning.  Desmond’s RBI single sliced the hosts’ deficit to one and set the stage for Schuman, who delivered a one-out three-run homer (the first of her career) that enabled Pine Manor to walk off with the opening game victory.

Senior Vanessa Soto and sophomore Ashley Whiteshield each had three hits as part of a 15-hit attack in the lid-lifter for the Gators, who also received two hits each from Desmond, Huber, Schuman and junior Tiana Jordan.  Rose went the distance inside the circle for Pine Manor to pick up her first win of the season, as Schuman’s walk-off homer gave her four RBI in the opener.  Goodwin and Driscoll (who drove in a career-high four runs) each had three of Massachusetts Maritime’s 13 opening game hits, while Gardner and Delahanty added two hits each for the Buccaneers.  Thomas added two more hits in suffering the tough-luck setback inside the circle for the hosts, as she struck out eight in going the distance.

Massachusetts Maritime heads to Salem, Mass. on Saturday afternoon to take on Salem State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader beginning at Noon, while Pine Manor travels to New Rochelle, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon to begin a four-game non-league series with New Rochelle that begins at 1:00 p.m.

(Photo Credit:  Justin Reidy)