Jakiela earns 1,000th career strikeout; Seahawks sweep pair from Eastern Nazarene

NEWPORT, R.I. - Senior Sarah Jakiela (Meriden, Conn.) struck out a combined 26 hitters to lead the Salve Regina University softball team to a pair of wins against The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) rival Eastern Nazarene Friday afternoon at Toppa Field. The Seahawks won game one, 2-0, and game two, 6-4, to improve to 19-11 on the season and 14-8 in conference play.

Jakiela struck out the first 10 batters she faced in the opener, including her opponent in the circle, freshman Jamie Block (Pembroke, Mass.), to end the second and give her 1,000 career strikeouts. Jakiela allowed just one hit and did not walk a batter in the game, and RBI singles by senior Kristen Danubio (Glen Rock, N.J.) and sophomore Kristen Parolise (Hamden, Conn.) in the fifth proved to be all the run support she would need.

In the nightcap, the Lions (3-27, 2-20 TCCC) rocked Jakiela for four runs in the first to grab the early lead. Junior Amber Burns (Fall River, Mass.) brought home the first run with a double to center field, and two batters later, Block plated Burns with a single. Freshman Vera Abbott (Sumner, Maine) brought home the third and fourth runs with a double to left center.

The Seahawks scratched across a run in the first on an RBI double by Parolise, and closed to within 4-3 in the second when Danubio singled to center to bring in freshmen Courtney Fleming (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Jen Cruver (North Haven, Conn.). In the sixth, Cruver singled home junior Christina Walsh (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) to tie the game, and Fleming's single down the left field line brought in a pair to push SRU in front 6-4.

Jakiela settled down after a shaky start to earn her 18th win of the season, allowing six hits and four runs while striking out nine. Block allowed five hits and two runs in the opener and 10 hits and six runs (five earned) in the second game. She fanned three hitters in each contest.

"Two big conference wins for us," said head coach Kerri Scroope. "The second game wasn't our prettiest, but we'll take a win at this point in the season. We're heading to Anna Maria tomorrow hoping for at least a split to earn fourth-place, but we're going for two. The conference is a little messy right now and we're hoping to move up as high as possible."

The Seahawks travel to Paxton tomorrow for a pair of games with the AMCats, beginning at noon. The Lions close their season with a pair of night games tomorrow against Nichols.