SB: Lasell sweeps Wentworth in home opener; Lasers off to best start ever
NEWTON, Mass. – The Lasell University softball team swept a non-conference doubleheader from Wentworth Institute of Technology Tuesday afternoon in the 2021 home opener at Taylor Field, winning the first game, 10-3, and holding on to take the nightcap, 3-2.
The Lasers improve to 4-0 on the year, the best start to a season in school history. Wentworth dropped to 0-2 as the schools met for the first time on the softball diamond.
Junior Brianna Gendreau (Warren, R.I) had a pair of two-hit games for the Lasers, including a double and an RBI in the opener, and senior Bethany Hector (Jaffrey, N.H.) had three hits on the day, including a triple. Sophomore Julie Macmillan (Acton, Mass.) blasted her first career home run to highlight the offense in the nightcap, and freshman Eryn Sheeley (North Haven, Conn.) earned the win after allowing just one run in six innings of relief.
Lasell will look to continue its winning streak Friday at Taylor Field in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) debut against Anna Maria College, beginning at 3:00 p.m.
Game 1 – Lasell 10, Wentworth 3
Up 2-1 after four innings, the Laser offense exploded with four runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Sophomore Bella Richard (Burlington, Mass.) and Gendreau drove home runs in the fifth inning with infield grounders, and freshman Katie Hopkins (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) capped the rally with an RBI single. Senior Alexis Truesdale (Wakefield, Mass.) delivered a two-run single to spark the sixth-inning outburst and later came home on a passed ball, and Richard scored after a single by Gendreau.
Gendreau and Hector finished with two hits each, and Truesdale knocked in a pair.
Senior Nicolette Genkos (Worcester, Mass.) earned the win (2-0) for the Lasers, pitching five-and-a-third innings and allowing three runs while striking out four. Freshman Courtney Dunham (Keene, N.H.) closed out the game, allowing just one hit and one walk the rest of the way, striking out two.
Game 2 – Lasell 3, Wentworth 2
After Wentworth got on the board in the top of the first inning, Lasell came back to tie the game on Macmillan's blast over the left-field fence in the third inning. The Leopards regained the lead in the top of the fourth, but the Lasers answered in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead for good. Gendreau singled and later scored on a passed ball, and Hector smashed a triple down the left-field line and scored on an RBI single by Hopkins.
Sheeley improved her record to 2-0 with a fine relief performance for the Lasers, allowing just one run on seven hits and no walks in a six-inning stint, fanning three. She was helped by a Lasell double play to end the Wentworth sixth inning, and she stranded the potential game-tying run at second base in the seventh, retiring the last two batters on a pop-up and a ground out.
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