BUZZARDS BAY, Mass -- On Friday afternoon, the Buccaneers softball team played their home opener against NVU-Johnson at Alison Rollins Field. In game one, despite six runs, Erin Donlan's first collegiate home run, and a handful of lead changes, the Bucs couldn't hold on losing 9-6. In game two, on the back of 11 hits, including a single, double, and triple from Ab'c'de Patane, the Bucs won their first game of 2023, 12-6, over the Badgers to split the twin bill. 

Game One

The Basics

Final: Badgers 9, Buccaneers 6

Records: NVU-Johnson (1-7)

              Maritime (0-5)

In The Circle

NVU-Johnson: Alexis Fleischer (W, 1-1): 4.1 IP | 6 H | 6 R | 6 ER | 0 BB | 6 K

                       Abby Terry (Sv, 1): 2.2 IP | 2 H | 0 R | 2 BB | 1 K

Maritime: Jennamarie Klemp (L, 0-4): 7 IP | 14 H | 9 R | 9 ER | 3 BB | 2 K

At The Plate

Maritime

• Senior Captain Abby Pope and freshman Kelsey Booker each had two hits in the game. 
• Donlan, Patane, Hannah Burton and Reagan Kerecz each had one hit. 
• Donlan recorded the only extra base hit of the game for the Bucs, a two-run home run in the first which included her two RBI and run scored in the game.
• Booker also drove in two runs and Grace Biondo was credited with an RBI on a ground out.
• Pope, Donlan, Booker, Patane, Kerecz, and Taylor Lane scored the six Buc runs in the loss. 
• Patane and Kerecz each had a stolen base.

NVU-Johnson

• Abby Terry and Alexis Fleischer each had three-hit games for the Badgers. 
• Mariah Muskin, Jennavieve Rapoza, and Ella Embry each had two hits. 
• Matea Smith and Nadia Claude had a hit apiece. 
• Embry drove in three runs in the game while Muskin, Terry, and Fleischer each drove in two.
• Claude scored twice and seven other Badgers came across to score in the win.
• Terry, Fleischer and Rapoza all had doubles, Embry recorded a triple.

How It Happened

Muskin gave the Badgers their first lead in the top of the first on a single that scored Brianna Belisle in the top of the first. In the bottom of the frame, Maritime scored four times with the first two runs coming on the Donlan home run that scored her and Pope. Booker came in on a wild pitch later in the inning followed by a Biondo ground out that scored Patane. 

The Bucs 4-1 lead held until the top of the fourth when Embry tripled with the bases loaded to clear the bases and tie the game at 4-4. 

Johnson added another run in the top of the fifth to take a 5-4 lead on a Terry single to right, bringing in Claude to score. In the bottom of the fifth, Maritime took a lead once again, 6-5, on a two-RBI single by Booker that plated Lane and Kerecz.

Then, in the top of the sixth, the Badgers tied the game on a Muskin single and proceeded to score three more on a Terry double to left that scored one and a Fleischer double to right that scored two to give them a 9-6 advantage.

Maritime, unable to bring any runs across in the sixth or seventh, lost game one by a 9-6 final.

Game Two

The Basics

Final: Buccaneers 12, Badgers 6

Records: Maritime (1-5)

              NVU-Johnson (1-8)

In The Circle

Maritime: Erin Donlan (W, 1-1): 3 IP | 5 H | 3 R | 3 ER | 2 BB | 3 K

NVU-Johnson: Mariah Muskin (L, 0-2): 41 IP | 7 H | 6 R | 5 ER | 0 BB | 0 K

At The Plate

Maritime

• Kelsey Booker and Ab'c'de Patane combined for six hits with three hits each.
• Reagan Kerecz recorded a two-hit game
• Erin Donlan, Rubi Butler, and Hannah Burton each added one hit to the 11 hit total.
• Donlan and Patane each drove in three runs with Booker driving in two and Butler and Carleen Harring each driving in one. 
• Booker and Donlan scored twice with Pope, Butler, Patane, and Grace Biondo scoring once.
• Patane finished the game a home run away from the cycle as she recorded a single, double, and triple in the win.
• Butler's lone hit was a double and the only other extra base hit for the Bucs.
• Kerecz stole her second base of the day and the only base of game two.

NVU-Johnson

• Abby Terry posted her second three-hit game of the day in game two. 
• Makenna Drake and Alexis Fleischer each had two hits.
• Nadia Claude, Jennevieve Rapoza, Mariah Muskin, Kayla Irick, and Ella Embry all had one hit.
• Terry drove in two run in the loss.
• Rapoza, Muskin, Irick and Embry each plated one.
• Claude and Drake scored twice, Terry and Fleischer scored once.
• Clause and Terry each had a double in the game.

How It Happened

Maritime tok the early lead in game two going up 1-0 in the top of the first on Patane's triple that plated Booker. 

The Bucs held the lead until the top of the third at which point the Badgers took a 3-1 lead on a two-RBI single from Terry then an RBI single from Irick. The Bucs cut the deficit to one run in the bottom of the third on a Donlan ground out to third that brought in Kerecz.

The middle innings belonged to the Buccaneers as they tied the game in the fourth on a Harring groundout that scored Butler. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, Donlan scored Kerecz again on a single and Patane doubled to bring in Biondo and Donlan to give Maritime a 6-3 lead after five.

Johnson scored twice in the sixth to make it 6-5 on Rapoza and Muskin singles. Up one in the bottom of the sixth, the Buccaneers extended the lead back to three and then some. Donlan walked with the bases loaded to drive in pinch runner Ashley Haller. Booker singled through the middle to score Pope and Kerecz. Butler grounded out to first scoring Donlan. Booker scored on the same play on an error by the pitcher. Jennamarie Klemp reached on an error later in the inning that scored Patane and the Bucs had a commanding 12-6 lead heading into the seventh.

In the seventh, the Badgers scored once on an Embry fielder's choice; Fleischer came in to score. Donlan proceeded to sit down the rest of the Badgers in the inning and seal the 12-6 victory, the first for the Bucs this season and her first in the circle at the collegiate level.

What's Next

The Bucs will host Fisher College on Thursday, March 16th at 4 & 6pm in a non-conference doubleheader at Rollins Field.