Simmons softball notched a 7-2 victory over UMass Boston on Thursday afternoon before falling 2-0 to the Beacons in game two in a non-conference doubleheader. The Sharks now boast a 16-10 record while the Beacons stand at 16-8 on the year.
Game One
The Sharks got on the board in the first with a pair of doubles to open the game by senior shortstop Annie Thompson (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) and senior catcher Emily Nalband (Litchfield, Conn.). Thompson came around to score on a pair of illegal pitches while Nalband crossed the plate following an RBI double from senior pitcher Courtney Collier (Bolton, Mass.) to make it 2-0. Collier would come around to score on an RBI ground out by freshman designated player Emily Colligan (Leominster, Mass.) to push the Sharks lead to 3-0.
The Beacons would make it a 3-1 game in the bottom of the second as freshman right fielder Natalia Bouyea hit a ball right up the middle to score junior first baseman Lisa Polsonetti who had led off the frame with a double to left center. Simmons would answer immediately with a run in the top of the third to regain a three-run lead at 4-1. Freshman first baseman Emily Cunningham (Cotuit, Mass.) led off the inning with a double and came around on an RBI single up the middle by Colligan. The Sharks would add to their lead in the fourth to make it 5-1on an RBI double by Cunningham, plating junior centerfielder Amanda Gould (Fremont, N.H.) who reached base after getting hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.
Simmons would continue to add to its lead in the fifth inning, plating two more runs on an RBI double to the right field fence by Thompson to put the Sharks on top 7-1.
The Beacons would cut into the lead with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning as senior third baseman Maria Nasta reached on a single and eventually scored on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze play by Polsonetti to make it 7-2 in favor of the Sharks but that'd be all the home team would get as Collier went the distance, scattering nine hits while allowing two runs to improve to 8-3 on the year.
Game Two
UMass sophomore catcher Sue Killilea opened up the bottom of the first with a leadoff triple to the base of the right centerfield fence and came into score the first UMB run on an RBI single up the middle by Nasta. Nasta would score all the way from first when freshman designated player Erika Vecchiet ripped a double to right center to give UMB the early 2-0 advantage.
The two runs would prove to be all the Beacons would need as senior pitcher Emily Wolf tossed the complete game shutout, scattering two hits while striking out three in the win. Simmons senior Sammi Letizio (Windham, N.H.) suffered the loss for the Sharks and falls to 6-4 on the year hurling six inning of six hit ball, striking out four while only surrendering the two runs in the first inning.
Simmons returns to the diamond on Friday afternoon when they travel to Newton, Mass. to face Pine Manor College in a GNAC twinbill beginning at 3:00pm. The Beacons will be back in action in Saturday, April 16 when they host UMass Dartmouth in a Little East Conference doubleheader beginning at 1:00pm.