Hawks advance with 10-inning victory over Seahawks

BRISTOL, R.I. - The Roger Williams University softball team needed extra innings to advance past the play-in round of The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament, winning 4-3 in 10 innings Monday afternoon over Salve Regina University.

With the win, Roger Williams (18-22), who came in as the fifth seed, advances to the double elimination portion of the tournament, where the Hawks will face the second-seeded University of New England Tuesday afternoon on the campus of Endicott College. Eighth seed Salve Regina closes out its season with a record of 15-26.

The Hawks began the scoring in the bottom of the second, when Kara Lewis (Bristol, R.I.) led off the inning with a double. After being pinch ran for by Laura McConnell (Lexington, Mass.), McConnell eventually came around to score on a passed ball to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

The Hawks added two more in the bottom of the fourth with Kaitlyn Costa (Cranston, R.I.) knocking in Jaclyn Doolin (Miller Place, N.Y.) and Kelly Marcin (Windsor Locks, Conn.) with a double to right center. Roger Williams was poised to break the game open in the frame, getting the bases loaded with no one out. Yet the Seahawks were able to induce the Hawks into force outs at home for the first and second outs, followed by a force at third to escape the inning with only two runs given up.

Salve Regina was held scoreless in the fifth before putting its first runs of the game on the board in the sixth. Ali Muehlbronner (Glenside, Pa.) and Christina Walsh (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) led off the inning with back-to-back singles, eventually reaching second and third with two outs. Kristen Parolise (Hamden, Conn.) brought in Muehlbronner with an RBI single to make it 3-1. A grounder by Seahawk pitcher Jen Cruver (North Haven, Conn.) to second allowed Walsh to score, followed by an infield RBI hit by Sara Nelson (Bristol, Conn.) later in the inning, bringing in Parolise to tie the game at three apiece. Neither team managed a run in the seventh, sending the game to extras.

After two-and-a-half scoreless innings, the Hawks managed to break through in the bottom of the 10th. Costa reached base via a one-out single, then moved up to second on a grounder to third. Sarah Grill (Watervliet, N.Y.) then came up to the plate and popped a ball to shallow center. Walsh charged in hard at the ball and made an excellent diving catch, but the ball trickled out of her glove as she hit the ground, with the umpire ruling a fair ball. Costa came in from second base and gave the Hawks the win.

Doolin pitched all 10 innings for the Hawks, giving up three runs (one earned) on eight hits with 10 strikeouts. Costa finished a career-best 4-for-5 with two RBI and the game-winning run. Lewis, Doolin, and Castro added two hits each.

Cruver took the loss, allowing four runs (two earned) in 9.2 innings on 12 hits with seven strikeouts. Parolise and Muehlbronner both finished 2-for-5 with a run scored, while Zeena Barbarita (Johnston, R.I.) was 2-for-3.

Courtesy of Roger Williams sports information