Gulls' streak at seven games with pair of late-inning wins against Seahawks

SEAHAWK SOFTBALL RESULTS
[1] Endicott 7, Salve Regina 4
[2] Endicott 3, Salve Regina 2 [eight innings]
Toppa Field - Newport, Rhode Island
Sunday, April 22, 2018

Summary
NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University and Endicott College went into the top of the seventh of back-to-back softball games at Toppa Field with a tie score. The Gulls won both games (7-4 and 3-2), first with a three-run seventh and second with a run in extra inning, to sweep the Seahawks in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action. Adrianna Favreau (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Olivia Odermatt (Cheshire, Conn.) both tripled in the seventh inning of game one as the Gulls also had a pair of sacrifice flies in the frame. In the eighth inning of game two, Endicott (24-4, 12-2 CCC) scored its run on back-to-back groundouts while Salve Regina (14-18, 11-7 CCC) moved the tying run to third base and had the potential winning run at second base, but could not cross the plate in the extra frame.

Series and Streaks
Endicott leads the all-time series, 33-15, and ends a five-game win streak by Salve Regina in the matchups which includes a 1-0 Seahawk victory in last year's postseason.

Five Seahawk Stars of the Day

1. Seahawk seniors - Lindsay DelGrego (Wallingford, Conn.), Francesca Galeazzi (Lynn, Mass.), Kristen Hickey (New Hyde Park, N.Y.), Courtney Nowicki (Northford, Conn.), and Taylor Parry (Quincy, Mass.) - celebrated with family, friends, and teammates before and after the doubleheader.

Key Stat of the Day
Endicott graduate student Lindsee Allienello (East Providence, R.I.) worked the leadoff spot for the Gulls and reached base five times with one triple, two doubles, and two singles, but three Salve Regina pitchers - Andi Nelson (Candia, N.H.), Julia Coute (North Dighton, Mass.), and Ashley D'Antuono (Seaford, N.Y.) - kept her from safely crossing the plate the entire day.

Turning Points
Salve Regina rallied to tie the score in both games, but Endicott scored three runs on three hits (and two sacrifice flies) in the top of the seventh of the first game. In the previous half inning, senior Courtney Nowicki (Northford, Conn.) led off with a single to right field and advanced to third on back-to-back sacrifice bunts by Megan Guest (Meriden, Conn.) and Lindsay Del Grego (Wallingford, Conn.), but Allienello gloved a line drive off the bat of junior Lindsey Florent (New Bedford, Mass.).

Quick Hits

• Lindsee Allienello collected five hits including three for extra bases (triple, two doubles).
• Francesca Galeazzi also had a five hit day, all singles, and scored two runs for the Seahawks.
• With one out in the fifth and a runner on first, Ashley D'Antuono (Seaford, N.Y.) relieved starter Julia Coute (No. Dighton, Mass.) and hit a Gulls batter on her first pitch before allowing an infield single to load the bases. D'Antuono got a comebacker for a force at home and then a fielder's choice grounder to Galeazzi to escape with no runs in the inning.
• Salve Regina's starter in game one - Andi Nelson (Candia, N.H.) - had pitched a 12-strikeout perfect game in Boston on Friday evening.
• Nelson had six Ks in the opener today including a strike-three swinging on her 150th and final pitch.
• Elizabeth Lombardo (Thomaston, Conn.) and Jaycee Garrigan (Uxbridge, Mass.) both had triples in the nightcap.
• Kristen Hickey (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) had a run-scoring double after Garrigan's three-bagger to tie the score at 2-2 in the fourth inning of game two.

Quotes
"These players are so important to me," said second-year head coach Jannelle Iaquinto. "In my first season (last year) coming in late in the fall, I knew I could lean on the veterans of this group. And this year especially, after graduating four All-CCC players, I really needed to rely on the experience of Lindsay, Frankie, Kristen, Courtney, and Taylor. Our manager (Taylor Parry) is going to be missed most of all, because she did it all.

Next Up
Salve Regina finishes its regular season with non-conference contests in the upcoming week - on the road at MIT (Tue., April 24) and UMass Boston (Wed., April 25). Endicott can clinch the top seed in the CCC postseason with two wins in its next four games - at University of New England (Mon., April 23) and home against Wentworth (Tue., April 24). The Seahawks can finish no better than fourth and no worse than fifth before heading into the postseason.