Seahawks, Hawks split TCCC doubleheader

BRISTOL, R.I. – Salve Regina University gave the Roger Williams University Softball team its first Commonwealth Coast Conference loss of the season with a doubleheader split Wednesday, with RWU winning the first game 9-7 followed by a 5-4 Seahawk win.

RBI knocks by Kelly Marcin (Windsor Locks, Conn.) and Jaclyn Doolin (Miller Place, N.Y.) put the Hawks up by a pair in the bottom of the first in the opener. The score stayed 2-0 until the bottom of the fourth when the Hawks added three more in the bottom of the fourth on a two-RBI single by Rachel Ehrlich (Southport, Conn.) and a sac fly by Doolin.

Salve Regina would get on the board in the following inning, getting a sac fly from Ali Muehlbronner (Glenside, Pa.) and an RBI single from Marissa Simpson (Brimfield, Mass.). Yet in the bottom of the fifth, Roger Williams added three more runs to make it 6-2. Salve Regina got RBIs from Jennifer Edine (Warwick, R.I.) and Zeena Barbarita (Johnston, R.I.) in the top of the sixth before Lauren Tierney (Middleboro, Mass.) scored in the bottom half to make it a 9-4 Hawk lead entering the top of the seventh.

Salve Regina made the Hawks sweat in their final at-bat, plating three runners in the inning and bringing the tying run to the plate before a groundout to first earned the Hawk win.

Doolin got the win for RWU, allowing seven runs (five earned) off nine hits and a walk with six K's. Marcin finished the game a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with three RBI and two runs scored. Ehrlich and Tierney added two hits apiece.

Jen Cruver (North Haven, Conn.) took the loss for the Seahawks, giving up the nine runs (three earned) while striking out five. Edine went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run, while Simpson had two hits, two RBIs, and a run scored.

The second game saw the Seahawks' Cruver score the first run of the game in the third on an errant throw at first. However the Hawks took the lead in the bottom half, on RBIs by Marcin and Hannah Pirez (Bolton, Mass.).

After Cruver scored in the fourth to tie the game at two, Salve Regina took the lead for good in the sixth, with Edine, Simpson, and Bryce McEwen (No. Yarmouth, Maine) all coming in to make it a 5-2 Seahawk lead. Cruver nearly had her third run of the game but was thrown out at home trying to score from second by Sarah Grill (Watervliet, N.Y.).

The Hawks nearly pulled off the comeback win in the bottom of the seventh, with Grill leading off with a single and scoring on a double by Erica Castro (Medford, N.Y.). Pirez would follow with an RBI hit up the middle to make it a one-run game. Yet Cruver would come in to the game and keep the Hawks from completing the rally, setting the next three down in order.

Simpson got the win for Salve Regina, giving up four runs (two earned) in six innings of work, while Cruver stranded the Hawk runners on base in the seventh for her first save of the year. Muehlbronner, Barbarita, and Cruver each had two hits in the game for the Seahawks.

Marcin took the loss, allowing five runs (two earned) in six innings. Castro finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Marcin added two hits and two RBI.

Roger Williams (6-12, 5-1 TCCC) takes on the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Thursday afternoon while Salve Regina (6-10, 4-2 TCCC) hosts Nichols College on Saturday.

Courtesy of Roger Williams sports information