BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Samantha Luther (Carlisle, Mass.), sophomore Elyse Turgeon (Dracut, Mass.), and sophomore Jesse Hutchins (Sebago, Maine) each recorded a pair of hits while freshman Kelly Lloid (Issaquah, Wash.) had a key, pinch hit, two-run double as the Emmanuel College softball team (4-3) jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back, en route to a 9-5 win over neighboring Wentworth (3-6).
The Saints took advantage of a pair of Leopard errors in the opening frame and would jump out to a 2-0 lead, thanks in part to an RBI single from Hutchins. Wentworth cut the lead in half in the home half of the inning when junior Lizz Harvey (McConnellsburg, Pa.) blasted her first home run of the season to deep center field.
Emmanuel added a run in the top of the second to take a 3-1 lead on an RBI single from junior Erin McSheffrey (Woburn, Mass,) and belted out five hits in the top of the third to extend the lead to 6-1. In the third inning senior Deanna Mastrovito (Worcester, Mass.) had a two-run double, while senior Samantha Luther (Carlisle, Mass.) drove in the other run. Wentworth plated two runs in the home half of the inning, thanks in part to an RBI single off the bat of junior Bridget Souza (Medford, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 6-3.
Lloid hit a ground-rule double to left field in the top of the fourth inning to open the game up at 8-3 before Leopard senior Nicole Ferreira (Framingham, Mass.) scored on an illegal pitch in the home half of the inning. Wentworth scored the only run of the fifth inning when Harvey led off with her second home run of the game, which cut the lead to 8-5. The Saints rounded out the scoring when Turgeon, who led off with a single, would eventually come around to score on an error.
Sophomore Kathryn Copp (Fremont, N.H.) picked up the win in relief (2-0), pitching three shutout innings in which she allowed just three hits and struck out three. Hutchins went the first three, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits, and striking out five. Lloid pitched an inning-plus, allowing three runs (two earned). Senior Caylee Johanson (Windsor, Conn.) took the loss for the Leopards, falling to 2-5. She scattered 13 hits and struck out seven, but was not helped by a Wentworth defense that committed seven errors.
Offensively for the Leopards, Souza had three hits while Harvey had two hits and two RBI.
