PRIDE SWEEP WHEELOCK ON SENIOR DAY

WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College softball team picked up a doubleheader sweep of Wheelock College, 16-1 and 16-0, both in five innings on Sunday afternoon in Weston, Mass. The Pride wrap up the regular season at 12-22 overall and 8-10 in the New England Collegiate Conference, while Wheelock drops to 0-29 and 0-18 in league games.

The Pride softball team honored senior captain Kara Donovan (Woburn, Mass.) in a pregame ceremony to recognize her contributions to Regis College and its athletic department.

In game one, the Pride jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Alyssa McKinnon (Raynham, Mass.) and Raegan Heck (Phillipston, Mass.) had RBI singles, while Shannon Bradish (Lawrence, Mass.) added a two-run single of her own. After a quiet second inning, the Pride scored 11 times in the bottom of the third to make it a 15-0 game. Heck and Bradish picked up RBI singles during the inning, with Haley Fountain (Warren, Mass.) adding a two-run double.

Gen Gudiel (Lawrence, Mass.) picked up her first collegiate hit and RBI in the bottom of the fourth for the final Pride run. Wheelock scored in the top of the fifth as the Wildcats got two runners on with singles by Jacky Hull (Braintree, Mass.) and Katie Fleming (West Boylston, Mass.). Molly Rose (Weymouth, Mass.) drove in Hull with a single to left field to make it a 16-1 game. Kayla Grosso (Barnstable, Mass.) lined out to short to end the inning and game one.

McKinnon ended game one going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Haley Fountain, Katie Cuozzo (Lynn, Mass.), Raegan Heck, and Shannon Bradish all had multi-hit days for the Pride as well. Cuozzo picked up her fifth win of the season scattering three hits over three innings of work and striking out a pair. Marissa Magarian (Goffstown, N.H.) pitched the final two innings and allowed one run on three hits with one strikeout.

Katie Fleming led the Wildcats with a 2-for-3 day at the dish. Jacky Hull, Kim Perault (Medford, Mass.), Molly Rose, and Kayla Grosso added the other hits for Wheelock. Kim Perault suffered the setback, allowing 16 runs (seven earned) on 14 hits.

The Pride struck early in game two as Regis plated nine runs in the bottom of the first. Shannon Bradish, Emily Pickett (Wrentham, Mass.), and Haley Fountain all had RBI singles in the inning, as the Pride took advantage of a couple of Wheelock errors to score the other runs. Jill Bruning (Medford, Mass.) picked up an RBI single in the bottom of the third to put the Pride on top 10-0.

Regis tacked on six more runs in the bottom of the fourth as Kirbie Garvey (Littleton, Mass.) drove in two runs with a single and Alyssa McKinnon, Haley Fountain, and Marissa Magarian added RBI singles. Garvey stymied the Wheelock offense as she allowed only one hit in four innings of work to pick up her first collegiate win on the mound.

McKinnon had another 3-for-4 day in the night cap with another RBI and two more runs scored. Samantha Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) went 2-for-2 with two walks and scored four runs on the day. Haley Fountain added two RBI for the home team.

Kayla Grosso picked up the lone hit for the Wildcats with a single up the middle in the fourth inning. Kierstan Cosgrove (Pequannock, N.J.) allowed 16 runs (eight earned) on 14 hits and walked six batters in defeat.

Regis awaits word on a bid into the NECC Playoffs, which begin on Tuesday afternoon, time and location to be announced.