Pride Close Out Spring Games with Games Against Blackburn and Haverford

CLERMONT, Fla. — The Regis College softball team wrapped up its time at The Spring Games with a 7-4 loss to Blackburn College before falling to Haverford, 4-2. The Pride leave the Sunshine State with a 2–8 record on the season.

Regis vs. Blackburn

Sydney Grund got things started on the day for the Pride with a triple down the right-field line to spark the offense. RBI hits from Francesca Licata and Lynsey Kay followed, and Gabby Blanchard laid down a perfectly placed bunt to bring in another run as the Pride jumped out to a quick 3–0 lead.

In the top of the second, Samantha Kelepouris doubled to right-center to plate Grund. However, the Pride tried to stretch the play on the bases, and the Blackburn defense responded by throwing out two runners to escape the inning.

Blackburn got a spark in the bottom of the fourth when Kenadee Frey led off with a solo home run over the fence. Later in the inning, Blackburn loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly brought in another run, cutting the Pride's lead in half at 4-2 after four innings.

Frey came through again an inning later with an RBI single to make it a one-run game. Two batters later she came around to score, giving Blackburn its first lead of the game at 5-4. Blackburn kept the momentum going, adding another single up the middle to extend the advantage to 6-4 after five.

In the top of the seventh, Mel Rees tried to spark a Pride comeback with her third hit of the day, a drive to right-center. But Blackburn held firm, not allowing a Pride runner into scoring position before a strikeout ended the game, securing a 7–4 victory.

Regis vs. Haverford

Back-to-back hits from Kelepouris and Rees put runners in scoring position for Mya Gaspie, who did her job with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1 after Haverford struck first in the opening inning.

Avery Simpson led off the third with a double to immediately apply pressure on Haverford and she later came around to score on a single from Licata, giving the Pride a 2-1 advantage after three innings.

Haverford answered in the fifth, stringing together four hits to bring in three runs and take a 4-2 lead, highlighted by a double from Shelby Preisser.

In the top of the seventh, Avery Simpson recorded the third out by catching a runner attempting to steal, keeping Haverford within striking distance heading into the Pride's final at-bat. In the bottom half, Simpson took one for the team with a hit-by-pitch and later moved to second, but she was left stranded when the shortstop recorded the final putout to end the game, giving Haverford a 4–2 victory.

Inside the Numbers:

• All four runs in game one came off the bats of four different players: Francesca Licata, Lynsey Kay, Samantha Kelepouris, and Gabby Blanchard.
• Sydney Grund's triple to open the game marked her third extra-base hit to lead off a game this season.
• Avery Simpson recorded her first collegiate double in game two.
• With today's performance, Mel Rees extended her hitting streak to six games. Four of those six games have featured two or more hits. She now leads the team with 13 hits and has added six RBIs.
• Sydney Grund leaves Florida with 12 hits, including three doubles and three triples - already tying her double total from last season while continuing to add to her personal record in triples.

Up Next:
The Pride will face their first competition back in New England with a doubleheader against Clark on Wednesday, March 18. The games are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. and will be played at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).