Simmons College Softball grabbed two 5-inning wins over Emmanuel College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference doubleheader played on Roberto Clemente Field on Sunday afternoon. The Sharks cruised to a 17-1 win in the opener, before topping Emmanuel, 12-4, in the nightcap. The pair of losses drops the Saints to 6-10 on the season and 2-4 in GNAC play, while Simmons improves to 9-9 overall and 6-2 in the league.

Game One

The Sharks built a quick 6-run lead through two innings played in game one, backed by consecutive doubles from lead-off batter Annie Thompson (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) and a two-run homer from freshman outfielder Christina Mulcahy (Cambridge, Mass.). Simmons then put together an incredible third inning, which proved to be too much to recover from for the Saints.

The Sharks scored 10 runs off of 9 hits in the top of the third, including two runs knocked in by Thompson on her third double of the game. With one out in the frame, Mulcahy stepped to the plate and blasted her second homer of the contest, scoring three more Sharks to make it a 16-0 ballgame.

Simmons tacked on one more run in the fourth and Emmanuel found the scoreboard in the home half of the inning. Junior Elyse Turgeon reached on a walk and sophomore outfielder Jackie Murray singled to move Turgeon, who was sent home on an RBI from freshman 3rd baseman Cyndi Sperl. A scoreless fifth inning from both sides ended the contest early with the Sharks taking a 17-1 victory.

Simmons senior Courtney Collier (Bolton, Mass.) earned the win for the Sharks, giving up just 3 hits and striking out nine Emmanuel batters. Sophomore hurler Kelly Lloid suffered the setback for the Saints.

Game Two

Game two featured more solid hitting by Simmons, who surged out to an 8-0 lead after three innings gone. Senior catcher Emily Nalband (Litchfield, Conn.) hit a two-run homer in the first and junior centerfielder Amanda Gould (Fremont, N.H.) smashed a two-run shot in the second. Thompson, who went 8 for 9 on the day, knocked in two runs with a single in the third, giving the Sharks a solid eight-run lead out of the gates.

The two teams notched four runs apiece in the fourth. First, senior 2nd baseman Steph Murray (Groveland, Mass.) hit a 2 RBI double and Thompson and Emily Cunningham (Cotuit, Mass.) followed with singles to score two more Sharks, giving Simmons a 12-0 lead. In the Saints' at-bat, Lloid, Turgeon and Kayla Howard singled to load the bases. Junior Heather Hamel drove in a run and freshman shortstop Sierra Roccaro hit a three-run double to score four runs for the hosts. Again, a scoreless fifth innings ended the contest after five, as Simmons pulled off a 12-4 victory.

Senior pitcher Sammi Letizio (Windham, N.H.) got the win for the Sharks, giving up 5 hits on the 4 runs and striking out 5 batters. Junior Kathryn Copp went the distance for Emmanuel, striking out 5 of her 37 batters faced.

Simmons will host Emerson College on Saturday in a GNAC doubleheader starting at 12:00pm at the Rotch Playground field.