REGIS NABS PAIR OF NECC WINS OVER WHEELOCK

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College swept Wheelock College in a New England Collegiate Conference softball doubleheader by scores of 16-0 and 5-3 on Thursday night in Weston, Mass. The Pride improves to 8-21 overall and 8-8 in the NECC, while Wheelock falls to 0-23 and 0-16 in league action. Emily Pickett (Wrentham, Mass.) picked up a pair of wins and Regis pounded out 28 hits in both games as part of the wins.

In game one, the Pride scored 16 runs on 20 hits in the 16-0 victory. Every Pride starter registered at least one hit, led by Kara Donovan's (Woburn, Mass.) 2-for-5 day with three RBI and Cassie Langone's (Chichester, N.H.) 3-for-5 day with three RBI and two runs scored. Katie Blackburn (Milford, Mass.) and Sarah Porteus (South Wellfleet, Mass.) also registered three hit games and also scored three runs apiece. Pickett registered her first win of the day by going five innings and scattering four hits while striking out 10 Wildcat hitters.

Wheelock's Sarah Negron (Northbridge, Mass.), Kim Perault (Medford, Mass.), Molly Rose (Weymouth, Mass.), and Jacky Hull (Braintree, Mass.) each had hits for the Wildcats. Perault suffered the setback, tossing five innings and allowing 16 runs (seven earned) on 20 hits, while allowing four walks and striking out two.

Game two was a different story as Wheelock struck first in the bottom of the first when Nicole Perullo (Revere, Mass.) laced a line drive that Regis' Samantha Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) knocked down, but was hit hard enough that it allowed Perullo to reach and allowed Khadijah Myers-Nell to score from third.

The Pride responded in the next half inning with a pair of runs as Sarah Porteus drove in a pair of runs with a two-run double down the left field line that put the Pride back on top 2-1. Regis tacked on what would prove to be three crucial runs in the top of the fifth as the Pride took advantage of a throwing error by the Wildcats to score a pair of runs following a single by Bliss. The freshman shortstop came around to score on an RBI groundout by Kara Donovan that gave the Pride a 5-1 advantage.

Wheelock chipped away at the four run deficit in the bottom of the sixth as the Wildcats got the first two runners on base before Molly Rose doubled to the gap in right-center that scored one run to make it a 5-2 game. Jacky Hull later added a sacrifice fly in the inning as the Wildcats entered the final inning only trailing 5-3.

After a scoreless top of the seventh for the Pride, Wheelock got its first base runner of the inning on a walk by Sara Buscemi (Arlington, Mass.). Sarah Negron followed with a double over the left fielder's head that left a pair of runners in scoring position with only one out. Pickett responded to the adversity, striking out Myers-Nell and forcing Kim Perault to ground out to second to end the game.

Pickett tossed seven innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits while striking out another five batters. Samantha Bliss and Jill Bruning (Medford, Mass.) each went 2-for-4 at the plate, while Porteus ended the game 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI and a run scored.

Molly Rose led the Wildcats offense, going 3-for-3 with an RBI. Khadijah Myers-Nell went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, while Negron, Perault, and Nicole Perullo (Revere, Mass.) each registered hits. Perullo took the loss for Wheelock, going seven innings and allowing five runs (two earned) on eight hits.

The Crimson and Gold wrap up the 2012 regular season with an NECC doubleheader at Elms College on Saturday afternoon starting at 12:00 p.m. Wheelock continues the search for its first win of the year on Saturday when the Wildcats travel to Southern Vermont College for a league doubleheader also starting at 12:00 p.m.