Offense Explodes in Game 2 as Softball Splits Saturday DH at Saint Michael's
Links: Box Score (G1) | Box Score (G2)
COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Merrimack College softball team's offense exploded for 11 runs in Game 2, as the Warriors split a Saturday afternoon doubleheader at Saint Michael's College. The Purple Knights took Game 1 by a 1-0 tally in nine innings before Merrimack earned the split with an 11-1, five-inning decision in the late game.
The Basics
Score (G1): Saint Michael's 1, Merrimack 0 (F/9)
Score (G2): Merrimack 11, Saint Michael's 1 (F/5)
Records: Merrimack (15-22, 8-11 NE-10) | Saint Michael's (2-18, 2-8 NE-10)
Location: Doc Jacobs Field | Colchester, Vt.
How It Happened
Saturday's opener was an absolute pitchers' duel, as junior Alexis Perry (Westford, Vt.) and Purple Knights starter Danielle Brown tossed up scoreless frame after scoreless frame all the way into the ninth inning.
Finally, though, in the bottom of the ninth, Danielle DelGreco doubled to left field to score the game-winning run, as the hosts squeaked by in Game 1 by a 1-0 margin.
The late game, however, was all Merrimack. A four-run top of the first set the tone for Merrimack's second-highest single-game offensive display of the season. Freshman Amanda Brush (Harleysville, Pa.) highlighted the frame with a three-run homer after sophomore Samantha Waskowitz (Killingworth, Conn.) drove in the game's first run earlier in the frame.
Two innings later, the Warriors put the game out of reach with a six-spot in the top of the third. Sophomore Kaleigh Finigan (Medford, Mass.) led off the inning with a solo shot before back-to-back RBI base hits from freshmen Brooke Gubala (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and Breanna Dupuis (Saint Albans, Vt.). Waskowitz would drive in two more later in the inning before Finigan came up to bat for the second time and added one more on a run-scoring single through the left side, as the Warriors took a 10-0 lead after three frames.
Each side traded runs in the fourth before starter Courtney Zambello (Sharon, Mass.) finished off the five-inning victory with a scoreless fifth.
Inside The Numbers
- Brush finished the afternoon with a team-high three hits and seven total bases, while tying Waskowitz for the team lead with three RBIs
- Zambello fanned three while walking one and surrendering one hit to pick up her third win of the year (3-5) in Game 2
- Perry turned an impressive performance as well, striking out five with no walks and four hits allowed over 8-2/3 innings
- Merrimack stranded 13 runners while the Purple Knights left five on base over the course of the afternoon
Up Next
Merrimack and Saint Michael's conclude the three-game weekend series tomorrow afternoon with a single-game matchup beginning at noon.
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