BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Alyssa Donovan (West Haven, Conn.) went 4-for-9 with three runs and six RBI to help the Newbury College softball team sweep a non-conference doubleheader over Wentworth Institute of Technology. The Nighthawks held on to take the first game 15-13 and won 18-8 (five innings) in the nightcap.
With the wins Newbury evens its record at 5-5 while the Leopards fall to 0-6 on the season.
In the first game, the Nighthawks jumped ahead to a 4-0 lead in the first frame. Senior Julia Flamenco's (Copiague, N.Y.) two-run double helped give Newbury the early lead. Freshman Vanessa Weymouth (Fremont, N.H.) hit an RBI double to give the Black and Gold its first run of the game.
After scoring twice in the second, Newbury scored seven in the third to take a 13-1 lead. The Leopards scratched their way back, as they scored four runs in the third and five in the fourth to cut the deficit to five. Wentworth made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh when they scored three runs to make it a two-run game with two runs coming on a double from senior Liz Glavin (Ipswich, Mass.). However, Newbury held off the Leopards and took the game 15-13.
Senior Olivia Kenyon (Canton, Mass.) went the distance to earn the win and helped her cause at the plate with a pair of hits. Donovan had two hits and drove in three as did senior Julia Flamenco (Copiague, N.Y.).
Weymouth finished the first game with four hits, two runs, and three RBI. Senior Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) held Newbury to a pair of runs in four and a third innings of work in relief.
Game two started the same way as the first, with Newbury scoring four runs in the first inning. The Nighthawks jumped ahead to 6-0 after the top of the second, but Wentworth came back in the bottom frame to tie the game at six as freshman Anna Hall (Franklin, Mass.) had a two-run double, junior Karsyn Sawyer (Chatham, N.Y.) had an RBI double, and Curran blasted a two-run home run. Newbury scored a pair in the fourth to take the 8-6 lead and didn't look back from there.
Donovan led the Nighthawk offense in the second game, going 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. Kenyon pitched a complete game and was also one of six players to record two hits in the contest for the Nighthawks.
Curran took the loss in the circle while Weymouth and Hall had two hits apiece.
Wentworth kicks off Commonwealth Coast Conference play Tuesday afternoon, as the Leopards travel to University of New England for a 3 p.m. doubleheader. Newbury travels to Curry on Thursday.