Falcons Take a Pair from Lasell in GNAC Softball

Newton, Mass (4/9/13) – The Lasell College softball team lost a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference games to visiting Albertus Magnus College on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons upended Lasell 10-4 in the opener before earning a come from behind victory to win game two, 3-2 in eight innings. Lasell dropped to 6-22 overall and 3-13 in GNAC play while the Falcons climbed to within a game of .500 overall at 13-14 while pushing their league record to 6-9.

Game One:

Santina Antoshak (Closter, N.J.) singled three times in four at-bats and drove in a run for Lasell, while Amanda Szidat (Westford, Mass.) singled twice while scoring a run and driving in a run. Eileen Bergin (Arlington, Mass.) recorded a pair of singles as well for the Lasers. Alison Saluti took the loss in the circle for Lasell, allowing five runs on five hits in three innings of work before giving way to Samantha Whynot (Randolph, Mass.) who yielded five runs, two earned, on six hits over the final four innings of play.

Danielle Figueroa (Bridgeport, Conn.), Veronica Hribko (East Haven, Conn.), and Brittney Urciuloi (Newington, Conn.) each recorded a pair of hits for Albertus Magnus. Isabel Lopez (West Haven, Conn.) and Aimee Mirto (Hamden, Conn.) supplied a power boost for the Falcons, Lopez with a three run home run and Mirto added a two-run shot. Amanda Green (Shelton, Conn.) scattered 11 hits, holding Lasell to four runs, three earned to record the win for Albertus Magnus.

Albertus Magnus got on the board early as Urciuoli opened the game with a single and after Figueroa worked a one-out walk Lopez sent a Saluti offering beyond the outfield wall for a three-run blast to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.

Lasell got a run back in the bottom half of the first inning when Courtney Moen scored on a fielder's choice ground out by Szidat to trim the Lasers deficit to 3-1.

Lasell kept the visitors off the board in the top of the second inning and beginning a rally in their half of the inning. A one-out walk to Michaelea Grady (Worcester, Mass.) followed by a pair of singles gave Lasell the bases loaded with only one out. Grady was forced out at the plate for the second out off the inning, but a single by Antoshak cut the Falcons lead to 3-2. Green worked out of the jam without allowing further damage by inducing an inning ending groundout.

Lopez worked a one-out walk in the top of the third for the Falcons, and following a strikeout Mirto knocked a two-out offering over the fence for a two-run homerun and a 5-2 lead for Albertus Magnus.

Albertus padded their lead in the top of the fifth inning when Hribko and Figueroa opened with back-to-back singles, and both eventually came around to score on a Lasell error giving the Falcons a 7-2 cushion.

Lasell stranded a pair of runners in the home half of the fifth inning, and Albertus boosted their lead to 9-2 in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Hribko and a run scoring double by Figueroa.

Mirto added a run to the Falcons advantage in the top of the seventh when she was forced in by a bases loaded walk, giving Albertus Magnus a 10-2 lead.

Lasell mustered a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh inning, using RBI singles from Nicole LeBlanc (Easton, Mass.) and Denise Archetto (Cranston, R.I.) to cut the deficit to 10-4, but were unable to climb all the way back, dropping game one of the double header.

Game Two:

Erin Larhgi (Wakefield, R.I.) had a single and a double in two at-bats while knocking in a run for Lasell, and Courtney Moen (Brookfield, Mass.) added a pair of singles in three at-bats for the Lasers. Eileen Bergin took the loss for Lasell, throwing all eight innings and holding Albertus Magnus to three runs, one earned on eight hits while fanning six hitters.

Brittney Urciuoli and Alyssa Puccilli (Milford, Conn.) each notched three singles at the plate for the Falcons while driving in a run each. Urciuoli also stole a pair of bases in the contest. Jackie Medina (Bridgeport, Conn.) worked the full eight innings on the slab for the Falcons and earning the victory while holding Lasell to two runs on nine hits and six walks while fanning three batters.

 Lasell was first in the scoring column in the second game of the afternoon, loading the bases with a walk, double and a hit by pitch, before Antoshak walked to force in Archetto and give Lasell a 1-0 lead.

Albertus evened the score at 1-1 in the top of the third inning when they used three straight singles to push across their first run of the game.

In the bottom of the third Lasell again went on top, getting back-to-back singles with two-outs from Grady and Larghi to plate Szidat who reached on a single of her own to open the inning to lead 2-1.

Urciuoli manufactured the tying run for Albertus Magnus in the top of the fifth inning, reaching on a bunt single, stealing second and moving to third on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a passed ball to make it 2-2 heading to the home half of the fifth inning.

Lasell stranded a pair of runners in the bottom of the fifth inning, and both teams left two runners on base in their respective at-bats in the sixth inning. Both teams were unable to mount a threat in the seventh inning and the contest headed into extra innings.

Bergin retired the first two hitter of the eighth inning, but a walk to Medina gave runners on first and second, with Figueroa being placed on second base to start the inning. Puccilli followed with a single to centerfield that plated Figueroa to put the Falcons on top 3-2.

Lasell started with Whyot on second base, and immediately advanced her to third with a sacrifice bunt to open the bottom of the eighth. After Emily DeAngelis (Shelton, Conn.) reached on an error to give Lasell runners on the corners with one out, Medina bore down and escaped the jam getting the final two outs on a popout and groundout to escape with the extra inning victory.

Albertus Magnus will be back on the diamond on Sunday April 14^th when they visit Johnson and Wales University for a 12:00 p.m. GNAC doubleheader, while Lasell will visit the Saints of Emmanuel College for a GNAC double dip of their own beginning at 12:00 p.m.