WENHAM, Mass. -- The third seeded Simmons softball team fell to the fourth seeded Johnson & Wales Wildcats, 3-0 in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference Semifinal Saturday afternoon, for their second loss in the double elimination tournament at Gordon College.
The Wildcats took the lead early when Korissa Bailey reached first on a walk. Olivia England placed down a perfect bunt for the sacrifice, advancing Bailey to second. With two outs, Bailey advanced to third on a wild pitch and the scored on a second wild pitch for the sole run in the first inning.
Simmons freshman Hannah Cunningham (Cotuit, Mass.) led off for the Sharks with a single and advanced to second on an error by the short stop. Katie McCarthy (Falmouth, Maine) singled down the first base line and Cunningham advanced to third. McCarthy then stole second for her fifth stolen base of the year. But the Wildcats defense made the next three outs, leaving both runners on base to end the inning.
After stellar defense by both teams through four innings, a pitch to start the fifth inning hit Wildcats Robyn Ziegler. Bailey then doubled to left field and both runners scored off a single by England to right to increase their lead to three.
Christina Mulcahy (Cambridge, Mass.) singled to left field for the Sharks and advanced to second off a sacrifice bunt by junior Ari King (Westford, Mass.) but the Johnson & Wales defense denied Simmons of the run to end the inning.
With a scoreless sixth, the Sharks faced their last chance in the bottom of the seventh. Alaina DeNoncour (Johnston, R.I.) came up big with a double down the left field line to start of the inning. Wildcats pitcher Tayla Gardner walked Mulcahy to bring the tying run to plate. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch but Gardner struck out two and the Wildcats defense supplied the last out to clinch the win, 3-0.
Tayla Gardner pitched a complete game, recording four strikeouts and giving up only four hits for the win. Lauren Backhaus (Windsor, Conn.) stuck out eight in the loss for the Sharks.
Simmons finishes the 2012 season with an overall record of 24-16 and 19-8 in the GNAC.