Softball Upended at Stonehill Tuesday
Links: Box Score
EASTON, Mass. – The Merrimack College softball team fell at Stonehill Tuesday afternoon in their first of three road games this week, as the Warriors dropped a Northeast-10 Conference divisional game in five innings to the Skyhawks.
The Basics
Score (5 innings): Stonehill 10, Merrimack 2
Records: Merrimack (19-24, 10-12 NE-10) | Stonehill (20-16, 16-8 NE-10)
Location: Fr. Gartland Field | Easton, Mass.
NE-10 Postseason Outlook (N.E. Division)
The top-four programs in the division standings advance to the NE-10 Championship, with the top-two teams receiving a bye. The Warriors have three divisional games remaining with Saint Michael's this weekend.
1. Southern N.H. (13-4)
2. Stonehill (12-6)
3. Assumption (12-6)
4. Franklin Pierce (9-9)
5. Bentley (8-9)
6. Merrimack (8-10)
How It Happened
Despite the loss, the Warriors opened the contest at Stonehill strong as they took the first lead of the game with a run in the top of the first inning, kicked off by a leadoff single from junior captain Samantha Waskowitz (Killingworth, Conn.). After advancing to second on a groundout, Waskowitz would score on a double from fellow junior and captain Haley Currie (Burlington, Mass.) to right center for the first score of the game, as Merrimack took a 1-0 lead.
That lead held into the second inning as the Skyhawks went down in order in their first at-bat in the bottom of the first. A 1-2-3 inning for the Warriors in the top of the second would be followed by a five-hit, five-run bottom of the inning from Stonehill, including a bases-loaded double with two outs to score three runs.
The Warriors would also be held scoreless in the third and fourth innings, managing just one hit in the two frames. Stonehill would proceed to score another five runs across those two innings, plating three in the third and two in the fourth to stretch its lead to 10-1 after four innings.
Needing two runs in the fifth to avoid having the game taken from their hands and ended early, the Warriors got off on the right foot with a leadoff single from junior Mariah Tenney (Winchendon, Mass.). A groundout followed by another single from freshman Hannah Johnson (Middleboro, Mass.) and a walk loaded the bases for Merrimack with one down. Another single from a rookie In freshman Caitlin McBride (Danvers, Mass.) would score a run for Warriors, putting them a run shy of keeping the game alive. But the game would come to an early end on a fly out to center that turned into a double play, as the runner from third was thrown out trying to score.
Inside The Numbers
- With the loss Tuesday, the Warriors are now 8-10 in the NE-10 Northeast Division, which sits sixth behind Bentley (8-9) and Franklin Pierce (9-9). Bentley has three divisional games remaining with Southern N.H., while Franklin Pierce has three remaining with Stonehill.
- With her RBI single on Tuesday, McBride has now recorded a hit in 16 of the last 18 games. She sits second on the team with 21 RBI on the season, which remains one behind Currie's team-leading total of 22 after knocking home Merrimack's first run Tuesday.
- Currie continues to be hot at the plate, as she has recorded a hit in 25 of the last 28 games. Her 22 RBI this season currently rank 15th in the NE-10.
Up Next
The Warriors return to the diamond tomorrow in Briarclif Manor, N.Y. when they take on Pace for a cross-divisional doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m.
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