Softball's Late Rally Falls Short in 7-6 Loss to Stonehill
Links: Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Senior Stephanie Lapierre (Berlin, Conn.) brought the hosts to within a run thanks to her two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Stonehill ultimately held off a late rally from the Merrimack College softball team, as the Warriors dropped a 7-6 decision on Thursday afternoon at the Warrior Softball Diamond.
The Basics
Score: Stonehill 7, Merrimack 6
Records: Merrimack (14-21, 7-10 NE-10) | Stonehill (13-10, 7-4 NE-10)
Location: Warrior Softball Diamond | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
Entering the day holding a half-game lead in the Northeast Division, Merrimack tied the game on a sacrifice fly in the third to make it a 1-1 affair after three innings.
A hit by pitch, a single and a walk loaded the bases for the Skyhawks in the fifth, and the first of three Merrimack errors brought in a pair of runs. Michelle Carbone drove in two more on a double down the left field line to equip the Skyhawks with a 5-1 advantage.
Merrimack capitalized on an error in the bottom half of the next inning, as sophomore Kaleigh Finigan (Medford, Mass.) drove in senior Courtney Ulak (Rehoboth, Mass.) to cut the deficit to three. Then, an inning later, the Warriors used a single, a walk and a wild pitch to put two runners in scoring position, and then junior Brittany Razo (Anaheim, Calif.) drilled a run-scoring single to left to bring in another.
After a pitching change, the Warriors loaded the bases on a walk and sophomore Samantha Waskowitz (Killingworth, Conn.) singled to shortstop to bring in another and make it a one-run game after six.
Stonehill, though, would get two more in the seventh, as an error with a runner at first brought in a run and a sacrifice fly in the following at-bat scored another, giving the Skyhawks a three-run lead.
That proved to be the difference, as Lapierre's homer scored herself and sophomore Tamarra Crowe (North Bend, Wash.), who pinch-ran for senior Becca Armstrong (Methuen, Mass.) after the latter singled with one out, but that would be it, as the Warriors fell back into a tie with Assumption for fourth place in the Northeast Division.
Inside The Numbers
- Merrimack finished with a 10-6 lead in hits, while Lapierre and Finigan led the way with two RBIs apiece
- Junior Alexis Perry (Westford, Vt.) fell to 6-5 on the year despite a five-strikeout, complete game performance; she yielded six hits, three walks and four earned runs over seven innings
- Stonehill's Sarah Ropiak picked up the win after fanning three and giving up four runs (three earned) over 5-1/3 innings before reliever Michelle Carbone picked up the save after entering in the bottom of the sixth with the tying runs aboard and finishing with three strikeouts over 1-2/3 innings
- Merrimack stranded eight runners compared to five for Stonehill
- The Warriors finished 3-for-9 with RISP
Up Next
After enjoying a stretch of nine home games over the last five days (11 total), the Warriors will take tomorrow off before traveling to Colchester, Vermont, for a weekend three-game series at Saint Michael's beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday (April 18) at 12 p.m.
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