Softball picks up three more wins

The Simmons College softball team closed out its storybook regular season this weekend with three more wins, to wrap up the second seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament next weekend.

The Sharks traveled to Hartford on Saturday to take on St. Joseph. Game one was a pitchers duel, as Sharks ace Sammi Letizio battled St. Joe's ace Sara Dudley.

Simmons broke through in the third inning on a two run single by Emily Nalband, to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead.

The Hawks battled back, and cut the deficit to 2-1 in the home half of the third. Simmons put the game away on the sixth, when freshman Dannie Szabo led off with a single, stole second, and scored on Sam Green's squeeze bunt. Green then came around to score on a double by Letizio to give the Sharks a 4-1 win.

Game two was a thriller, as the Hawks took a 2-0 first inning lead. Simmons struggled with the bats, but got a run across in the fourth on Leah Derderian's RBI double that scored Green.

Trailing 2-1 in the seventh the Sharks got a spark from center fielder Stephanie Murray who singled to open the inning. Kristen Souza bunted her to second, and she scored on Annie Thompson's bloop single to right to tie the game.

Letizio who had come on in relief in the sixth, shut down the Hawks in the seventh, and the game went to extra innings.

With the international tiebreaker in effect, and Ann Talarico standing on second, Szabo took the first pitch of the eighth inning and drilled a line drive off the top of the fence for an RBI double to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead. Letizio shut down St. Joe's in the home half of the eighth to give the Sharks the win.

On Sunday Simmons split a doubleheader with Lasell. In game one, Letizio was masterful allowing just one earned run and striking out six.

The offense came alive in the third on an RBI triple from Nalband, who scored on Talarico's RBI single as well.

In the fourth, Derderian blasted a two run homer, to contribute to a four run inning that gave the Sharks a comfortable 7-2 lead, that would stand up.

Game two saw Lasell take an early lead they would not relinquish, as Simmons had its 14 game win streak snapped. The lone bright spot was Szabo's eighth homer of the season.

Simmons ends the regular season with a school record 29 wins, and is now preparing for the GNAC Tournament, where they will be the second seed on Saturday at noon at Lasell against a team to be determined.