Softball Shuts Out Holy Cross Twice on the Road Thursday

The Central Connecticut softball team blanked the Holy Cross Crusaders twice in a doubleheader on the road at Freshman Field in Worcester, MA on Thursday afternoon. Senior Eileen Purcell drove in freshman Kaitlin Paterson in the top of the 10th inning for a, 1-0, extra-inning victory in game one before the Blue Devils pounded out 13 hits for a, 10-0, mercy rule win in five innings in game two.

The pair of victories improves the Blue Devils record to 10-15-1 heading into Northeast Conference play this weekend. They will face-off with preseason NEC favorite LIU Brooklyn in their conference opener at home on Sunday. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 12 noon on the CCSU Softball Field. Holy Cross falls to 5-21 after the losses.

Game 1 - CCSU 1, Holy Cross 0 (10 Innings)

Sophomore pitcher Emily Sargent worked out of a jam in the bottom of the ninth inning, stranding a Holy Cross runner at third with less than two outs to eliminate any chance of a walk-off win for the Crusaders, and the Blue Devils used the momentum to force across a run in the top of the 10th for a, 1-0, extra-inning victory in game one on Thursday.

Senior Eileen Purcell singled through the right side with one out in the top of the 10th to bring home freshman Kaitlin Paterson who doubled to left field to leadoff the inning for the game-winning RBI.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Crusaders threatened to walk-off on the Blue Devils getting a baserunner to third with one out, but Sargent induced a shallow fly out to right and a foul out to third to keep the game scoreless and setup the dramatic for Purcell.

Sargent stymied the Crusaders' offense all game and picked up the shutout victory in the circle to even her record at 6-6 on the season. The shutout is her second so far this year. She tossed a complete game, allowing just four hits over 10 innings of work and struck out six. She faced 34 batters, just one over the minimum, and prior to the ninth inning she had not allowed a base runner past first base.

Purcell finished 1-for-5 at the plate with the game-winning RBI for the Blue Devils, while Paterson also went 1-for-5 with the double in the 10th and scored the game-winning run. Sophomore Brittany Camara was the lone Blue Devil to record a multi-hit game going 2-for-4 as CCSU out-hit Holy Cross 7-4 in game one.

Game 2 - CCSU 10, Holy Cross 0 (5 Innings)

Central woke up the bats and pounded out 13 hits for a, 10-0, mercy rule victory in five innings in game two on Thursday. Three Blue Devils logged multiple hits in the tail end of the twin bill, including three hits from both Paterson and sophomore Brittany McNulla.

The Blue Devils jumped out of the gate with a five-run first inning and never looked back in the 10-0 win. They would go on to tack on two more in the third and fourth innings, respectively, before scoring one in the top of the fifth for the final margin.

After the Blue Devils' first three batters reached safely to load the bases to start game two, sophomore Alexis Debrosse ignited the big first inning with a two-RBI single to right field, scoring McNulla and Purcell for an early 2-0 lead. Classmate Tori Constantin followed with a RBI single and a throwing error on the play pushed across another run to build a 4-0 CCSU advantage. The fifth run of the opening frame would come around to score on a Holy Cross miscue.

In the third inning, senior Hannah Cooper ripped a double to left field to plate Constantin for the first run of the inning, who had walked to leadoff the frame. Paterson would then follow with a RBI single up the middle to bring home Cooper to extend the Blue Devils lead to 7-0.

Constantin drove in her second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth to push the lead to 8-0 and put Central within the game shortening run rule. Camara followed with a RBI single to center field to push the lead to 9-0 after four innings of play.

Another Holy Cross miscue, the Crusaders' third of the game, allowed the 10th run of the game to cross the plate for the Blue Devils in the fifth inning and freshman Alex Casanas worked around a two-out single in the bottom half of the frame to secure her second shutout of her career as a Blue Devil.

Casanas went the distance, twirling 5.0 innings of four-hit softball without issuing a walk and struck out one. She improves to 4-9 on the season in the circle with the victory. She needed just 55 pitches, firing 36 strikes, to retire the Crusaders.

Paterson went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate in game two with a RBI and McNulla finished 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Debrosse and Constantin each drove in a pair of RBI in the win.

The CCSU softball team will return to action next as they open up Northeast Conference play at home with a doubleheader against the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds on Sunday. First pitch of game one is slated for 12 p.m.