Softball Suffers First Sweep of Season Tuesday Night
CLERMONT, Fla. – The Merrimack College softball team suffered its first sweep of the season on Tuesday evening, dropping its first game of the evening to Augustana and then falling to a four-run seventh inning from Millersville, losing 6-5 to the Marauders and dropping a pair of games at the Springs Games in Clermont, Florida.
The Basics
Score (G1): Augustana 3, Merrimack 1
Score (G2): Millersville 6, Merrimack 5
Records: Merrimack (8-4) | Augustana (S.D.) (7-6) | Millersville (6-6)
Location: National Training Center | Clermont, Florida
How It Happened (Game 1)
Junior Megan Cook (Bellingham, Mass.) would get the start on the mound for the Warriors in the first game of Tuesday night, opening the game in strong fashion with two quick innings of work, allowing just one baserunner to Augustana.
That would allow Merrimack to hop out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning after a scoreless first. With the first two batters reaching base for the Warriors, senior Kaleigh Finigan (Medford, Mass.) would rip an RBI double into the outfield, scoring a run to give Merrimack the first lead of the game after two innings.
Augustana would answer quickly in the top of the third inning, responding with a two-RBI double in their next at-bat to end Merrimack's short-lived lead and take a 2-1 lead into the fourth.
After Cook pitched her way out of a jam in the top of the fourth inning to keep the deficit at one, the Warriors would look to respond in the bottom of the frame. Finigan would again look to get Merrimack's offense going, blasting a one-out double off the wall, nearly tying the game but putting a runner in scoring position. Classmate Mariah Tenney (Winchendon, Mass.) would get a chance to knock the runner home, hitting the ball hard in her at-bat later in the evening, but saw a shoelace catch from the first baseman rob of her of that chance and end the inning.
Augustana's pitching would bear down in the final two innings, shutting down the Warriors offense to maintain its two-run lead as Merrimack fell in its first game of the night, 3-1.
How It Happened (Game 2)
In game two of Tuesday night, Merrimack would find itself playing from behind under the lights in Florida following a scoreless first inning. Millersville would get on the board first with the solo homer to left-center in the bottom of the second inning, putting the Warriors behind 1-0 after two innings.
Merrimack would respond promptly to Millersville's game-opening run, getting it back in the top of third inning kicked off by a strong hustle play from senior captain Samantha Waskowitz (Killingowrth, Conn.) to beat out an infield single. Junior Alyssa Williamson (Scarborough, Maine) would follow up with a deep single to right field to score Waskowitz and tie the game.
The Warriors would tack on another run in the fourth inning to take their first lead of the game at 2-1. After a leadoff single from sophomore Caitlin McBride (Danvers, Mass.), followed by a bunt and a hit batsmen, Merrimack would find itself with the bases loaded. After registering the first hit of her career with a triple that she would reach home on, sophomore Kristina Terrazzano (Pelham, N.H.) would be called upon to pinch-hit in the key situation. The sophomore would poke a line drive into centerfield, getting it deep enough for the runner on third to tag and score, make it 2-1.
Millersville would get a run back in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2, but that wouldn't last long as the Warriors opened up for three runs in the sixth inning, ignited by the first-career home run on a go-ahead solo shot from senior Tamarra Crowe (North Bend, Wash.) early in the inning. A double followed by an RBI double from Waskowitz would put another run on the board, then a hit to knock in the senior captain would cap off the three-run inning.
Heading into the bottom of the seventh still leading 5-2, the Warriors would see Millersville string together five straight hits and score four runs to walk-off with a 6-5 victory and hand Merrimack its first sweep of the season.
Up Next
The Warriors continue action at the Spring Games Wednesday morning when they begin a doubleheader with Pace at 8:00 a.m.
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