Blue Softball Defeated by Scranton, Oswego St. on Day Three in Florida

CLERMONT, Fla. -- Wellesley College softball came up short in a comeback bid against the University of Scranton, 4-2, before dropping a 9-6 final to Oswego St. in a tough third day of action at Hancock Park in Clermont, Florida. Wellesley is now 2-4 on the season.

Scranton 4, Wellesley 2

Scranton scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and held on for the remainder of the contest to take a 4-2 victory over the Blue. Senior Jamie Hampsey (Tunkhannock, Pa.) pitched a complete game to earn her first win of the season, scattering seven hits over seven inning while striking out six.

For Wellesley, senior Carly Bresee (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) and junior Anna Pisac (Snohomish, Wa.) each had two hits and an RBI. Pisac's second hit came in the top of the sixth on her third home run of the season, an opposite field shot to right center for the Blue's first run of the game.

The Royals took advantage of a pair of Wellesley errors in the first inning to jump to a 4-0 advantage. Scranton junior Christine Kiefer (Wantagh, N.Y.) opened the inning with a single, before Wellesley starter Sydney Hopper (Newcastle, Wash.) got first year Molly Hampsey (Tunkhannock, Pa.) to fly out to Pisac in center. Junior Shannon Stricker (Morrisville, Pa.) then reached on a hard single down the first base line, advancing Kiefer to second. With two on and one out, junior Jacqueline DeSarro (Bethlehem, Pa.) reached first on an error, allowing Kiefer to score on the play. A throw across the diamond then got away at third base, allowing Stricker to come around to score the second Scranton run. Junior Kaitlin O'Sullivan (Bensalem, Pa.) then made her way to second, thanks to a single and a stolen base, before junior Katherine Kunak (Monroe, N.Y.) doubled to right center to score DeSarro from third and O'Sullivan from second.

Hopper gave way to Julia Warner (Kenmore, Wash.) in the first inning and the sophomore pitcher shut down the Royals for the rest of the contest, striking out seven in 5.2 innings.

The Blue got one run back on Pisac's homer in the sixth. Bresee added the second Wellesley run when she brought Warner around to score in the top of the seventh. With one out in the inning, Warner singled down the third base line and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior Jaclyn Tsang (Manalapan, N.J.). Bresee knocked home Warner with a single up the middle but Hempsey got sophomore Amanda Manning (Durham, Calif.) to fly out to left to end the rally and the game.

Oswego St. 9, Wellesley 6

Once again faced with an early deficit, the Blue fought back in the late innings only to fall short to Oswego St., 9-6. The Lakers scored four runs in the first, one in the second, two in the third and one in the fourth to take an 8-0 lead through four innings.

Oswego St. took advantage of a pair of errors in the top of the first inning to open up a 4-0 lead. First year Erin Sweeney (Connetquot, N.Y.) and senior Tori Trovato (Fulton, N.Y.) each singled to open the frame, before Sweeney came home to score the Lakers' first run when the first error of the inning allowed sophomore Gabriella Vertuccio (Massapequa, N.Y.) to reach base. Trovato came around on an Alexis Nasca (Hamburg, N.Y.) RBI single, before Vertuccio added the third run on an Ashley Lyman (Lockport, N.Y.) RBI single. First year Sarah McCullough (Montgomery, N.Y.) later completed the first inning rally when she grounded out to second, scoring Nasca on the play.

The Lakers added another run in the top of the second thanks to a Jacquie Porreca (Lancaster, N.Y.) RBI single off the glove of Manning and down the first base line. Two more Oswego St. runs would score in the top of the third, when Nasca drew a bases loaded walk to score Sweeney and Trovato scored on an infield pop-up that the Blue failed to handle off the bat of Porreca. The eighth Laker run would also come thanks to a bases loaded walk in the top of the fourth inning.

Wellesley's bats came to life in the bottom of the fourth inning, as the Blue used six hits and one Oswego St. error to push across six runs and draw back to within two, at 8-6. Junior Kendra Coleman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) reached first on an error to open the inning. Sophomore Zein Aburish (Alexandria, Va.) followed with a one-out single, before Manning moved the pair along to second and third with a sacrifice bunt.

With runners in scoring position, the Blue ran off four straight hits, as Bresse singled down the third base line to score Coleman and Aburish, before Tsang singled to bring Bresee around from second. Ashtyn Coleman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) added a single of her own to continue the rally, scoring Tsang and bringing Pisac to the plate with the score at 8-4. Pisac delivered once again for the Blue, sending a two-run home run over the fence to make the score 8-6. The Wellesley junior now has four on the season, already matching her 2015 total.

An Oswego St. pitching change yielded the final out of the fourth inning, as the game progressed to the seventh with the score still at 8-6. In need of insurance in the top half of the seventh, Nasca provided it for the Lakers, opening the inning with her first home run of the year.

The Blue got two base runners aboard in the bottom of the seventh inning, bringing the tying run to the plate with one out, but Oswego St. senior Alexandria Connolly (Endicott, N.Y.) shut the door to end the game at 9-6.

Connolly pitched 3.1 innings, surrendering just two hits to earn her first save of the season. Oswego St. starter Brittney Sears (Phoenix, N.Y.) went the other 3.2 innings to pick up her first win of the year. For the Blue, sophomore Madeleine Bianchi (Lakeville, Minn.) pitched the game's first six innings before Warner came on in relief in the seventh.

Wellesley closes out their spring training trip tomorrow, March 24, with a pair of games. The Blue will play Worcester St. at 8:00 AM and Stevens Institute at 10:00 AM, both on field three at Hancock Park. The games were previously scheduled for 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM.