Seahawks settle for split on opening day

CLERMONT, Fla. - Seniors Jenna Edine (Warwick, R.I.), Sara Nelson (Bristol, Conn.), and sophomore Genevieve Benoit (Swampscott, Mass.) all collected four hits in two games for Salve Regina softball which split the first two games of the season. In the opener, the Seahawks hounded Houghton College for a 13-2 decision before Elizabethtown College took a 7-0 victory over Salve Regina in the second game.

The Highlanders finished their week in Florida with an overall record of 0-11, while the Blue Jays head home with a 3-7 mark.

Against Houghton, Salve Regina broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third inning plating two runs. Edine singled to third base and advanced to third on Benoit's single up the middle.

Sophomore starting pitcher Nicole Parry (Quincy, Mass.), who had struck out six of the first seven batters she faced, drove in the first run of the season with a sacrifice bunt. Nelson brought Benoit home with a single to right field for a 2-0 Seahawk lead.

Benoit's double down the left field line started a two-run rally for the Seahawks in the fifth inning. Parry singled through the left side to put runners at the corners, then stole second to allow Nelson's single through the right side to bring home both runners for a 4-0 Seahawk advantage.

Highlander starting pitcher Sarah Beirne switched positions with first baseman Ashley Schenk after Nelson's two-run single. Schenk induced a double-play on her first batter.

Next inning, however, the Seahawks doubled their run total. Melissa Figueiredo (East Bridgewater, Mass.) led off the sixth with a walk and promptly stole second. Edine collected her first RBI of the season with a single. Benoit added a triple to her three-hit game to drive in Edine. Benoit then scored on a wild pitch. The Highlanders committed three errors in the sixth and Lauren Fountain (Cheshire, Conn.) scored the final run of the frame, unearned.

Trailing 8-0, Houghton was in danger of ending its Florida schedule with a six-inning loss. The Highlanders reached Parry for two runs in the sixth. Samantha Patoff tripled to score Adrean Tiffany who led off the inning with a single to center. Patoff crossed the plate on Julianna Evans' fielder's choice grounder to Figueiredo at shortstop.

Schenk struggled with control in the Seahawk seventh inning, walking Figueiredo and Nelson around an Edine double to load the bases. Parry earned a base on balls for her second RBI of the game. Nelson followed with her fourth RBI of the game on a single to left center. Fountain delivered Benoit's fourth run scored with a sacrifice fly to center.

Senior Marissa Simpson (Brimfield, Mass.) gave Salve Regina a 13-2 lead when her single to left field scored Nelson.

Parry handled two bouncers back to the circle while striking out her 12th Highlander of the game for a victory in her first collegiate pitching outing.

Her classmate, Dominique Burnham (Scarborough, Maine), allowed single runs in the first and second innings against Elizabethtown. Becky Becher led off the game with a single to right and scored on Jessica White's single to center. Becher's sacrifice fly in the second inning scored Kelsey Brown with an unearned run.

Burnham pitched five innings allowing four runs, three of them earned, and struck out five Blue Jays' batters.

Salve Regina, which had played errorless ball and did not strike out in any plate appearances against Houghton, committed four errors while striking out five times against Blue Jays' pitcher Justyna Pepkowski.

The Seahawks managed just four hits against the lefty and had two baserunners only in their final at bat. Salve Regina (1-1) plays at Hancock Park on Sunday against Brandeis University (11 a.m.) and Haverford College (5 p.m.). Both games will be broadcast on the Salve Regina softball channel on its Ustream.tv network.