WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State Lancers (5-8-1) and the UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs (14-5) split on Wednesday afternoon's non-conference doubleheader at Rockwood Park on the campus of Worcester State.
GAME ONE: Worcester State 5, UMass-Dartmouth 2
After a quick first inning, the Lancers put three runs up in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Hayley Terry (N. Dighton, Mass.) reached base on a single to center field, and Zoe Haley (Bellingham, Mass.) reached base on a walk. With two runners on base, the Corsairs committed two errors to score two at the plate, and then Worcester's Corrie Derosier (Shrewsbury, Mass.) scored on a wild pitch to give the Lancers a 3-0 advantage.
The Lancers picked up another run in the bottom of the 3rd when Sydney Despres (Sterling, Mass.) came home on, yet, another Corsair error.
It wasn't until the top of the 5th inning that the Corsairs were able to get on the scoreboard. Gracie Tradeau (Dartmouth, Mass.) started the inning off with a single up the middle, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Rachel Carey (Holbrook, Mass.) reached base on another single up the middle, from where her and Tradeau scored on a two-RBI single from Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.).
The Lancers were able to gain another run and shutout the Corsiars in the top of the 6th and 7th innings to result in the 5-2 victory for Worcester State.
Worcester State's pitcher, Kayla Humphrey (Wallingford, Conn.) earned her third win of the season in pitching a complete game and only allowing two runs on five hits. UMass-Dartmouth's pitcher, Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) suffered the loss, despite only allowing five hits and one earned run.
GAME TWO: UMass Dartmouth 9, Worcester State 8
UMass Dartmouth came out strong in the second game of the afternoon, as they scored five runs in the first two innings of play to conquer the advantage early on. Jill Miller (Freetown, Mass.) and Sam Orton (Swansea, Mass.) registered three and two RBI, respectively, in the first two innings of play.
Worcester State responded with three runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning, however, the Corsairs matched the three runs scored in the top of the 4th when two players walked, and Briana Flaherty (Franklin, Mass.) singled through the left side, all eventually scoring on a Worcester State error and a wild pitch.
Worcester State came through with a second wind in the bottom of the 5th inning when they scored four runs on two hits and two errors.
UMass-Dartmouth scored one more run on a sacrifice fly from Gracie Tradeau (Dartmouth, Mass.) in the top of the 6th to change the score to 9-7 in their favor.
The Lancers didn't allow any runs in the top of the 7th, and had a chance to make a comeback in the bottom of the inning. To start the inning out, Rachel Couto (Chelmsford, Mass.) reached on an error, from where Sara Pelletier (Leominster, Mass.) reached on a walk. Sydney Despres (Sterling, Mass.) came up to bat next and loaded the bases with a single. One run scored as Dakota Smith-Porter (Montague, Mass.) was walked and the Couto was forced to advance home to tighten the score at 9-8. Though, the game was concluded when the next batter grounded out to third base, resulting in the win for the Corsairs.
The Corairs' offensive player, Miller led the team with a game-high three RBI. Worcester State's offense was led by Despres who went 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI, while Kayla Humphrey (Wallingford, Conn.) went 3-for-4, also with a double and an RBI.
UMass-Dartmouth's Shannon Orton (Swansea, Mass.) earned the win, pitching a complete game and only allowing three earned runs to cross the plate. Worcester's Megan Rich (Chelmsford, Mass.) absorbed the loss and moves to 1-3 on the season.
The Lancers return to action on Friday (Apr. 1) to take on Brandeis in another non-conference doubleheader. The Corsairs start up conference play on Saturday (Apr. 2) where they will take on Plymouth State in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.