Seahawks swing away for second-straight sweep

NEWPORT, R.I. - For two straight days, Salve Regina University softball has played 20 innings and outscored its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opponents, 50-0. On Friday at Toppa Field in Newport, the Seahawks swept a pair from Eastern Nazarene College, 13-0 and 8-0. Yesterday in Boston, the Seahawks earned their first doubleheader sweep of the season with 18-0 and 11-0 wins against Wentworth Institute of Technology.

All four games ended after five innings with an eight-run or greater margin of victory for Salve Regina (7-9; 5-1 CCC). The Lions slip to 6-10 overall and 2-4 in CCC action.

In today's 4 p.m. opener, freshman centerfielder Lexi Soucie (No. Easton, Mass.) collected three hits, including a double and triple, with two runs scored and five runs batted in. Salve Regina had five doubles in Game One, including two from freshman firstbaseman Lauren Fountain (Cheshire, Conn.).

Seniors Jenna Edine (Warwick, R.I.) and Sara Nelson (Bristol, Conn.) joined freshman Katie Napier (Medford, Mass.) with multi-hit games in the box score.

Soucie led off the Seahawk first inning with a single up the middle. Kelly Davin (Northbridge, Mass.) beat out a bunt before Edine singled to the opposite field to load the bases. Genevieve Benoit (Swampscott, Mass.) drove in the first two runs with a single to right center. Kara O'Riley (Acton, Mass.) doubled to straight-away center for a 4-0 lead after one inning.

In the Seahawk second inning, Napier led off with a single and came home on Soucie's triple. Davin's grounder to short scored Soucie.

Nelson and Fountain had back-to-back doubles to open the third inning for Salve Regina. Soucie's double to right center in the fourth inning cleared the bases for three more Seahawk runs; Salve Regina led 13-0.

Meanwhile, Seahawk starting pitcher Nicole Parry (Quincy, Mass.) retired the first 12 Lions batters she faced. Sam Losano (Elverta, Calif.) led off the top of the fifth and worked a 3-1 count before breaking up the perfect game with a clean single up the middle. Losano stole second while Parry struck out the next two batters and got the final out on a fly to Napier in right.

Parry finished with eight strikeouts to improve to 4-2 on the season. It was her fourth outing with seven or more strikeouts, and second-straight shutout. Carissa Cicolini (Methuen, Mass.) took the loss to fall to 5-3.

The Lions doubled their hit total against Dominique Burnham (Scarborough, Maine), but the Seahawk right-hander worked four innings for her second victory of the season. Salve Regina, which scored in all eight innings it batted today, took a 1-0 lead after one in Game Two.

Soucie led off with a double to left center and scored on Edine's sacrifice fly to center.

A four-run second inning got its start with an RBI single from senior shortstop Marissa Simpson (Brimfield, Mass.). Soucie had a two-run single and Napier drove in a run with a ground out. Fountain had an RBI single in the third and then a two-run double in the fourth.

Eastern Nazarene pitcher Olivia Tovar (Coursegold, Calif.) got her team's first hit in Game Two with a third-inning single to shortstop. Cayla Clincksdale (Winchendon, Mass.) had a two-out single in the fourth for the Lions.

O'Riley pitched a perfect fifth inning for her first appearance as a hurler in 2014.

Salve Regina plays at Nichols College for a CCC doubleheader on Saturday; Eastern Nazarene has its home-opener against Curry College tomorrow (1 p.m.).