Lions Take Two From Leopards
Eastern Nazarene's offense explodes for a combined 37 runs in softball doubleheader sweep of Wentworth
QUINCY, Mass.—Eastern Nazarene freshman second baseman Taylor Fleming (Sheridan, Calif.) etched her name in the record books Friday as she doubled home two runs in her final at bat to complete the cycle in game two as the Lady Lions softball team defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology in doubleheader by scores of 10-2 and 27-4. Her final two runs batted in brought Fleming's total to 10 in game two, just two shy of the NCAA Division 3 record.
In the first game of The Commonwealth Coast Conference matchup, Wentworth jumped out in front early as senior shortstop Jen Giudice (Central Valley, N.Y.) homered to centerfield to put the Leopards ahead 1-0. Two batters later, senior Bridget Souza (Medford, Mass.) launched a solo shot to right field to put Wentworth up 2-0 after the first.
After two scoreless innings, Eastern Nazarene broke through in the bottom of the third as freshman Sam Losano (Elverta, Calif.) scored on a passed ball to cut the lead in half, 2-1.
Losano came up big again for the Lady Lions in the bottom of the fourth as she lined a double into the right centerfield gap. Losano's double would drive in two runs and put Eastern Nazarene ahead, 3-2. Senior Bethany Greenfield (Parsippany, N.J.) followed with a single to center field that brought Losano home to stretch the lead to two.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Eastern Nazarene platted six runs capped by a Laura Giberson (Hingham, Mass.) RBI single to end the game giving the Lions the win.
Three Lady Lions finished game one perfect at the plate as Eastern Nazarene tallied 14 hits in a team offensive effort. Greenfield finished with three hits while Losano, Abigail Moore (Sheridan, Calif.) and Cayla Clinkscale (Winchendon, Mass.) each had two hits and two runs batted in.
Eastern Nazarene pitcher Jamie Block (Pembroke, Mass.) picked up her second consecutive wins as the sophomore gave up only two hits while striking out three.
Wentworth freshman first baseman Haylee Bacik (Lowell, Mass.) opened up the second game of the twin bill with a bang as she hits her first collegiate home run to give the Leopards another early advantage.
Eastern Nazarene matched power with power as the Lady Lions exploded for eight runs in the opening frame. Fleming followed a Greenfield leadoff walk with a homer to left centerfield to give the Lady Lions the lead. By the time the lineup turned over, Fleming came to the plate for her second at bat of the first inning with the bases loaded and two outs. Fleming lined a ball down the right field line to clear the bases and give Eastern Nazarene an 8-1 lead after one.
In the bottom of the second, the Lady Lions' offense exploded for 12 runs including another Fleming extra base hit, this time a three run triple, to put the Lions in control. Eastern Nazarene tallied seven additional runs in the third inning capped by Fleming's two out, two run double.
In the top of the fifth, Wentworth refused to give in as senior Lizz Harvey (McConnellsburg, Pa.) launched a three run homer to keep the Leopards alive before Moore retired the final two hitters to bring the day to a close. Moore allowed just five hits as she picked up her fourth win of the early 2011 season.
The pair of wins brings Eastern Nazarene to 4-0 in conference and 6-8 overall. Friday's double- header loss drops Wentworth to 0-14 and 0-4 in the TCCC.
The Lady Lions will jump back into action, on Saturday as they travel to TCCC opponent University of New England. Wentworth travels to Roger Williams, also on Saturday. Both doubleheaders are slated to begin at 12:00 p.m.
-Release Courtesy of Eastern Nazarene Sports Information
Eastern Nazarene 10, Wentworth 2 (03/25/11 at Quincy, Mass.) (Game 1)
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Wentworth........... 200 00 - 2 2 1 (0-13, 0-3 TCCC)
Eastern Nazarene.... 001 36 - 10 14 1 (5-8, 3-0 TCCC)
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Pitchers: Wentworth - Stephanie MacLeay and Bridget Souza. Eastern Nazarene – Jamie Block and Abigail Moore
Win-Jamie Block (1-6); Loss-Stephanie MacLeay (0-8). T-1:30
HR WIT - Jen Giudice (1); Bridget Souza (2).
Eastern Nazarene 27, Wentworth 4 (03/25/11 at Quincy, Mass.) (Game 2)
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Wentworth........... 10 0 03 - 4 5 3 (0-14, 0-4 TCCC)
Eastern Nazarene.... 8(12)7 0X - 27 16 0 (6-8, 4-0 TCCC)
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Pitchers: Wentworth - Stephanie MacLeay; Haylee Bacik (4) and Bridget Souza. Eastern Nazarene – Abigail Moore, and Laura Giberson.
Win-Abigail Moore (4-3); Loss-Stephanie MacLeay (0-9). T-1:30; A-20
HR WIT - Lizz Harvey (3); Haylee Bacik (1).
HR ENC – Taylor Fleming (2).
MacLeay faced 6 batters in the 2nd; Bacik faced 2 batters in the 3rd.