WORCESTER, Mass. (March 27, 2024) – Junior Shannon Conte (Amesbury, Mass.) shined Wednesday afternoon, going 5-7 with a double, a run batted in, and three runs scored as the Stonehill College softball team won a pair of non-conference games at Freshman Field against the College of Holy Cross.
GAME 1 – Stonehill 6 (5-16, 1-5 NEC), Holy Cross 5 (7-12, 0-0 Patriot)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Stonehill scored in the opening frame as a double from Conte started things off before she came into score on an RBI single from junior Isabella Therrien (Auburn, Mass.).
Two walks and a single loaded the bases for the Skyhawks in the top of the third but a strikeout and two groundouts forced by Crusader starter Sophia Roncone got Holy Cross out of the jam unscathed.
Stonehill added one run to its lead in the top of the fourth as Conte ripped an RBI single up the middle to score junior Chloe Kelly (East Bridgewater, Mass.).
A two-run homerun from Callie Thibault tied the score at 2-2 in the bottom half of the fourth but the Skyhawks regained the lead, 3-2, in the fifth as freshman Caelan Beatty (Oro Valley, Ariz.) singled to center field with Therrien scoring from third after stealing the base earlier in the inning.
Therrien blasted her first home run of the season to right-center field, scoring two runs as Conte was on first while junior Alyssa Grossi (Wakefield, Mass.) made the score 6-2 in the sixth inning with an RBI double.
In the bottom half of the sixth, the Crusaders tacked on three runs to make it a one-run game junior Skylar Brandemarte (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) came out of the bullpen and recorded three straight outs to keep the tying run on third base.
Brandemarte shutout Holy Cross in the seventh inning, securing a 7-4 win as the Skyhawk's ace tallied her second career save, her first since April 10, 2022.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Freshman Alexa Hospodar (Old Bethpage, N.Y.) made her sixth start of the season, going five innings to improve to 2-4 with one save on the year.
- This was Brandemarte's second stint out of the bullpen in 12 appearances this season, her first work in relief since March 8 against Siena.
- Conte had five at-bats in Wednesday's first game, reaching base safely all five times, hitting a double and two singles while drawing two walks.
- Therrien hit her first home run of the season, the third of her career, going 3-5 with 3 RBI for her third multi-hit game of the season.
- Beatty reached base safely three times on a single and two walks drawn, the first two walks of her young career.
GAME 2 – Stonehill 7 (6-16, 1-5 NEC), Holy Cross 4 (7-13, 0-0 Patriot)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Stonehill scored two runs in the top of the second to open the scoring when Beatty singled to right center field followed by a fielder's choice from senior Maeve Proulx (Westford, Mass.) that drove in Beatty from third.
An RBI single from the Crusaders in the bottom of the second made it 2-1 and Holy Cross would tie things up in the bottom of the fourth after a double found the gap in right-center field to score a runner from first base.
A five-run fifth inning from the Skyhawks broke the tie as the scoring run was capped off by a two-run single with the bases loaded from junior Emily Nardelli (North Attleboro, Mass.).
Holy Cross answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth but the game would be cut short after another half-inning of action due to rain as the Skyhawks won 7-4 in the sixth.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Brandemarte improves to 3-6 on the year, pitching all five innings before the game was cut short due to weather, marking her fifth complete game in 10 starts this season.
- Kelly went 1-2 with a double in the second game of the day as her batting average rose to .355 on the season, the fifth-best mark in the Northeast Conference.
- Beatty reached base safely three times on a single and two walks drawn for the second straight game, also scoring twice for the first two runs scored of her career.
- Conte has now reached base safely in five consecutive games.
- Proulx and Nardelli each tallied two RBI in the win, this being the first two runs batted in for Nardelli this season.
UP NEXT
Stonehill softball continues Northeast Conference play on the road at Sacred Heart for a three-game weekend series at Pioneer Park. Friday's doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. before closing out the series with one game on Saturday beginning at noon.
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