McHugh's Grand Slam Lifts Lasell Over Rivier

NASHUA, NH-Down 6-4 in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and one out, Marissa McHugh (Plymouth, MA) knocked out a grand slam over the right center field fence to clear the bases and ultimately lift Lasell past Rivier College, 8-7 in the first game of a conference doubleheader.  The Lasers fell 5-2 in the nightcap to bring their overall record to 7-21 and their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) slate to 7-7. 

McHugh's homer scored Talia DeChiara (Kingston, MA), Kelly Silvia (Oak Bluffs, MA), and Ashley Laramie (Lynn, MA), all of whom had singled to reach base and set up the four-run inning.  

Lasell had previously scored four runs in the fifth inning on an RBI single by DeChiara which scored Santina Antoshak (Closter, NJ) and a two-RBI base hit by Silvia which scored DeChiara and Courtney Moen (Brookfield, MA).  Candace Hankard (Wakefield, MA) brought in the final run of the inning on a base hit to center field which plated Silvia. 

Rivier had produced a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning and then added a run in the fourth before Lasell overtook the lead, 4-3, in the fifth. A three-run bottom of the sixth for the Raiders set up McHugh's heroic grand slam in the seventh.  

Though the Raiders scored one unearned run in the bottom of the final frame with two outs, the Lasers picked up the final win on a ground out to relief pitcher Kirsten Mammola (North Reading, MA) who had entered the game in the seventh.  

Mammola earned her first save of the season, while the win went to sophomore pitcher Alison Saluti (Braintree, MA) who tossed for six innings and struck out three. 

Silvia went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs in the game while DeChiara, Starkey, and McHugh added two hits each.  McHugh led all batters with four RBI and Hankard and DeChiara each tallied one RBI.

In the nightcap, Lasell fell behind 4-0 in the third inning, and the Raiders tacked on a fifth run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Lasers scored one run each in the final two innings on a Laramie RBI-single into center field which scored DeChiara in the sixth and a Mammola solo home run in the seventh. 

Mammola suffered the loss in six innings of work with three strikeouts, giving up just two earned runs.  

Rachelle Haas (Middleton, MA) went 2-for-3 at the plate and Silvia, DeChiara, Laramie, and Mammola each had one knock apiece. 

Lasell hosts a conference doubleheader against Emerson College on Saturday, April 16th on Taylor Field.  The first game of the day is slated to begin at noon.