QUINCY, Mass. (April 24) – The Nichols College softball team pounded out 10 hits and took advantage of seven errors in the nightcap of a The Commonwealth Coast Conference twinbill to defeat Eastern Nazarene, 10-1, and claim the seventh seed in the upcoming TCCC Tournament. The Bison were edged in the day’s first game, 3-2, at Mitchell’s McCoy Field, but finish the regular season with a 12-11-1 conference record and an overall mark of 16-21-1. Eastern Nazarene finishes its season at 4-28 overall and 3-21 in TCCC play.
Nichols will travel to sixth-seeded Curry for a play-in round game at 4 p.m. on Monday, with the winner advancing to face third-seeded Western New England College at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the double-elimination round hosted at #2 University of New England in Biddeford, Maine.
The Lions capitalized on their first hit of the day when Amber Burns hit a two-run home run over the centerfield fence in the third inning to give Eastern Nazarene the early lead. Ashley Robidoux (Milford, Mass.) led off the Bison fourth with a single and found second on a wild pitch before cutting the Lions lead in half on an RBI single from Savannah Thibault (Marlborough, Mass.).
Laura Giberson led off the bottom of the fifth with a double and eventually came around to score when Hannah Moore reached on an error to push the Lions’ lead back to two.
The Bison’s Samantha Hardigan (Brockton, Mass.) plated Molly Ferraro (Millis, Mass.) in the top of the seventh with a double, but Nichols’ two-out rally was short-lived and the next batter grounded out.
Hardigan went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Robidoux went 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Lindsay Hassett (Oxford, Mass.) took the loss despite fanning eight and allowing three hits. Jamie Block earned the win, allowing six hits and striking out one.
The Bison scored in every inning of the second game, starting with Mary Kate Frodema (Springfield, Mass.) crossing on a passed ball. Kylie Langton (Medford, Mass.) and Amber Cottrell (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) led off the second with back-to-back hits before scoring on a Lauren Correia (Seekonk, Mass.) single. Frodema later plated Correia with a two-out single.
Robidoux drew a leadoff walk in the third and was knocked in on a Thibault single after advancing on a wild pitch for a 5-0 Bison lead. Lauren Correia led off the fourth with a double and scored when Chelsea Correia reached on an error.
The Lions threatened in the bottom of the inning when LeAnn Abbott walked and reached third on a fielder’s choice and ground out. But the Lions were denied a run when Bison third baseman Frodema made a lunging catch on a Bethany Greenfield line drive that was on its way to the outfield to end the inning on the Lions.
The visitors continued to live on the bases as Lauren Correia doubled to center field, advanced to third on a Hardigan single and then scored from a Lion error to take a 6-0 lead.
The Lions threatend again in the fourth with runners on first and second with two outs. But a great defensive play, this time by center fielder Lauren Correia, denied the Lions their first runs of the game as she made a running catch of Block’s line shot to right center field.
The Bison offense continued to churn in the fifth as they loaded the bases, took advantage of Lion errors and a bases loaded walk to make it 8-0.
The Lions finally connected in the fifth as Abbott singled on and advanced to second on a ground out. It was then that a RBI double to the right field fence by junior Ja'na Jenkins that scored Abbott and the home team’s first run of the game to make it 8-1.
In the top of the sixth Thibault tripled to the right fence scoring Robidoux and then scored herself on another Lion miscue to give the game its final score, 10-1.
Frodema had a strong game at the plate going 2 for 3 with 2 RBI, a walk and a run scored. Teammates Lauren Correia and Thibault also contributed heavily with 2 for 4 hitting. Correia had 3 RBI and 2 runs scored while Thibault put up 2 RBI and 2 runs.
Kara Buckley (Nashua, N.H.) improved to 5-4 with the win for the Bison as she gave up five hits through six innings while fanning two and walking a pair. ENC’s Hannah Moore (0-9) threw 2 innings giving up six hits, five runs, walking two and striking out two before she had to leave the mound due to injury.
Information courtesy Eastern Nazarene Sports Information
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score