EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Simmons softball swept the Johnson & Wales University wildcats in a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference contests at Pierce Field Friday afternoon. Simmons posted a 3-2 victory in the opener and completed the sweep with a 6-1 win the nightcap.

In the opener, senior Korissa Bailey reached on a single in the bottom of the second and scored on an RBI single by sophomore Kelsey Dunn to give JWU the 1-0 advantage. Simmons knotted the game at 1-1 on an RBI single by sophomore Katie McCarthy (Falmouth, Maine).

JWU went up 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Dunn led off with a double and came around to score on an RBI groundout by senior Olivia England. Once again Simmons responded and knotted the game at 2-2 in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by freshman Alaina DeNoncour (Johnston, R.I.).

McCarthy's RBI single in the top of the seventh propelled Simmons to the 3-2 victory. McCarthy went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI while sophomore Emily Cunningham (Cotuit, Mass.) also had a pair of hits in the win for the Sharks. Dunn was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI in the setback for JWU while Bailey went 1-for-3 with a run scored for the Wildcats.

Freshman Lauren Backhaus (Windsor, Conn.) notched the victory for Simmons, allowing two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts in the complete-game. Sophomore Taylor Cwalinski suffered the loss for JWU, allowing three runs, two of them earned, on six hits with 12 strikeouts in seven innings of work.

Simmons jumped out to the early 2-0 lead in the nightcap on a two-run home run by senior Amanda Gould (Kingston, N.H.). The visiting Sharks were up 4-0 before JWU got on the board with a solo home run by England in the bottom of the fifth, making the score 4-1. A two-run home run by freshman Hannah Cunningham (Cotuit, Mass.) would cap the scoring on the day as the Sharks took the 6-1 victory.

Hannah Cunningham was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI in the win for Simmons while McCarthy also had three hits with a pair of runs scored for the Sharks. Senior Amy Fish went 2-for-3 in the loss for JWU.

Freshman Amanda Cordeiro (Fall River, Mass.) picked up the win for Simmons, giving up one run on four hits with three strikeouts in the complete-game victory.

With the two losses Johnson & Wales is now 16-14 overall and 11-7 in the GNAC while Simmons improves to 18-11 on the season and 14-4 in league play. The Sharks return to the field on Saturday, April 14th at Saint Joseph College (Conn.) for a GNAC doubleheader at 12:00 p.m. The Wildcats will return to action on the same date when they host Mount Ida for a GNAC doubleheader, starting at 12:00 p.m.