REVERE, MA
The UMPI Owls Softball team picked up their first win since spring break as they won the back end of a doubleheader with North Atlantic Conference West Division Opponent, Lesley University. Both games were within reason, but the Owls couldn't get the bats going enough in the first one before they woke up in a big way for game two.
Game 1: (6-2 Lynx)
How it Happened:
UMPI struck first in this one in the top of the 1st inning, as they used some small ball to get leadoff batter Emma McNally around the bases before back-to-back singles from Gracelyn Walsh and Sabrina Kauffman made it 2-0 Owls. It would stay this score until the bottom of the 3rd when Lesley got on the board with two runs of their own to tie it up.
The game was locked at 2-2 until one bad inning once again plagued the Owls. A leadoff home run, followed immediately by two doubles in the 5th, put the Lynx in front. One more heat and a couple pf errors, and Lesley hung a four-spot to take a 6-2 lead. This was too much for the Owls to overcome as it ended up being the final score.
At the Plate:
The Owls used up two of their three hits in the 1st inning, before Lesley's starter Madison Hebert entered cruise control the rest of the way. Gracelyn Walsh went 1-3 with an RBI double in the first, while Sabrina Kauffman drove Walsh in right after, going 1-3 with an RBI as well. Abby Doughty had the third hit for UMPI on a single to right field in the 4th.
In the Circle:
Gracelyn Walsh once again got the ball for UMPI, and once again went the distance. She threw six innings, allowing three earned, and had a strikeout. It was one of her best outings of the year despite getting the loss.
Game 2: (7-3 Owls)
How it Happened:
UMPI again wasted no time in this one, scoring three runs in the top of the 1st. A Zoe Stewart, single followed by a Gracelyn Walsh home run, set the tone for UMPI's middle of the order the rest of the day as those two would produce big time.
UMPI tacked on another in the top of the 2nd, as Zoe Stewart singled, and Gracelyn Walsh drove her in again, this time with a double to left field. Lesley answered back in this frame however, keeping it a three-run affair at 4-1.
In the 4th, Avery VonKadich got things started with a single. Then the duo connected for a third time. Zoe Stewart tripled to right, to bring in VonKadich, before Gracelyn Walsh singled to bring in Stewart. It was the third time in the game that both players had back-to-back hits, and it was only the 4th inning.
Lesley scored once in the 5th and 7th innings, but couldn't string any more than that together, as the Owls cruised to the victory by a score of 7-3 and pick up their first win since early on in their spring trip.
At the Plate:
UMPI had a season-second best nine hits as a team in this one, six of them came from Stewart and Walsh. Walsh led the way, going 3-3 with four RBI with a double and a home run. Stewart went 3-4, including a triple, and one RBI. If you add that together Stewart and Walsh combined to go 7-8, hitting for the cycle together, and had five RBI.
Avery VonKadich also hit very well as the Owls Designated Player, going 2-4 with a pair of singles, an RBI, and scored a run. Abby Doughty hit safely again, going 1-3.
In the Circle:
Megan Bucholz was the hero hurler for game two as she earned the win. Bucholz threw all seven innings, allowing three earned runs on nine hits, with one strikeout. It was her first one of the season and comes after multiple quality outings fell just short. She did so behind some great defense, as the Owls nearly turned in a clean-sheet with just one error.
Next Up:
The Owls improve to 2-13 on the season, and 1-1 in conference. UMPI will hope to turn one win into multiple as they get right back into action for their fifth and sixth games in three days when they travel to Holden, Massachusetts to take on Anna Maria College for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday beginning at 2 p.m.
