Therrien belted a three-run home run for the Skyhawks in game two today and finished the afternoon with a pair of hits (PHOTO BY Crystal Ayn Hagberg) |
Blue Devils take opener 9-0, behind Whittaker shutout and five home runs, before notching 8-3 win in nightcap
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (April 28, 2023) – Central Connecticut State University swept a Northeast Conference softball doubleheader against Stonehill College at CCSU Softball Field this afternoon. The Blue Devils posted a 9-0 victory in game one, before taking an 8-3 decision in game two.
Highlights
- Freshman Grace Lawton belted two home runs and drove in six RBI over the course of the two games, finishing a combined 4-for-5 at the plate.
- Junior Paige Stringer hit a combined 5-for-8 over the afternoon with three runs scored, and a home run, while freshman Kendall LaMorte was a combined 4-for-6 with a triple, home run, four runs scored and three RBI.
- Senior Kim Howard chipped in with four RBI, hitting a combined 3-for-5 with a home run.
- Senior Kaylee Whittaker earned the win in both games in the circle for CCSU, tossing a pair of complete games as she scattered three earned runs on nine hits with nine strikeouts and three walks over her combined 13 innings of work. She tossed a four-hit six inning shutout in game one, striking out one.
- Sophomore Isabella Therrien delivered a three-run home run in game two for Stonehill, finishing a combined 2-for-6 for the afternoon. Senior Courtney Brochu and freshman Natalie Bottiglieri each chipped in with two hits for the day.
Game One: CCSU 9, Stonehill 0 (6-innings)
- All nine Central Connecticut State runs came as a result of home runs, starting in the bottom of the third as senior Meg Gorman and Stringer broke open a scoreless game with back-to-back solo homers to lead off the inning.
- Lawton added a two-run homer later in the third to provide all the runs Whittaker would prove to require in a four-run inning.
- LaMorte tacked on a two-run shot in the fifth after a two-out single to left from senior Ava Cino, before Howard ended the game with a three-run homer to end the game in the sixth after a two-out single by Stringer.
- Senior Kelly Mayette took the loss in the circle for Stonehill (1-11), yielding four earned runs on six hits with a strikeout and two walks over 3.0 innings.
Bottiglieri also recorded two hits on the day, singling and later scoring on the Therrien home run in game two (PHOTO BY Crystal Ayn Hagberg) |
Game Two: CCSU 8, Stonehill 3
- Central Connecticut grabbed a quick two run lead in the bottom of the first as Gorman singled with one out and later scored on a ground out. Stringer singled and advanced to second, later scoring when Cino reached on an error.
- The Blue Devils added a run in the second when junior Brooke Fedison delivered a two-out double and scored on a single to right by freshman Ashlyn Desaulniers.
- Stonehill knotted the score in the top of the third when Therrien followed a leadoff walk from sophomore Chloe Kelly and a one-out single to left by Bottiglieri with her second home run of the season with two away.
- CCSU responded with four in the home half to take the lead for good on an RBI single to center by LaMorte, before Lawton followed with a three-run home run.
- Lawton added an RBI single in the fifth to cap the scoring in the game.
- Whittaker notched her second win of the afternoon in the circle for CCSU (19-9), allowing three earned runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and three walks.
- Sophomore Skylar Brandemarte took the loss in game two for Stonehill (3-24), allowing eight runs, six earned, on 11 hits in 5.1 innings.
Up Next
Stonehill (4-41, 2-18 NEC) closes out its inaugural NCAA Division I season tomorrow morning, when it wraps up its three-game NEC series with CCSU (20-14, 13-7 NEC) in New Britain.
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