Softball Posts Shutout Sweep On Senior Day Over Mount
The Blue Devils won 2-0 and 4-0 against the Mountaineers on Sunday.
The Central Connecticut softball team sent off its 2018 senior class with a two-game shutout sweep of Mount St. Mary's on Sunday afternoon. The Blue Devils toppled the Mountaineers 2-0 in game one and 4-0 in the second game of their final regular season home game.
CCSU improves to 9-5 in the Northeast Conference and 18-26 on the season. The Mountaineers fall to 16-23-1 and 6-8 in league play. Central will travel to Providence on Tuesday, May 1 to face the Friars for a 2:00 p.m. contest.
GAME ONE
Senior Lex Debrosse gave CCSU the 1-0 early cushion in the first game of the doubleheader on a sacrifice fly to center field to score fellow senior Brittany Camara from third after earning a lead-off walk.
Sophomore Peyton Silverman gave up just two hits in the first four Mountaineer at bats. CCSU built on its lead in the bottom of the fifth inning following a lead-off double to the left-center field gap from senior Tori Constantin. Camara then launched a deep sacrifice fly to the Mount's left fielder whose throw to home was not enough to catch Constantin, giving the Blue Devils a 2-0 edge.
The Mountaineers would not go out quietly, as they left a total of five runners on base in the final two innings.
Central Connecticut's right fielder, sophomore Giuliana Hathaway made play of the game to seal the Blue Devil victory in the top of the seventh inning. With Mountaineers on second and third, the Mount's third batter, Lindsay Heinze, hit a long fly ball to Hathaway who then threw a bullseye canon to senior catcher Brittany McNulla who tagged out Kirsten Mumma at home to win the game.
Silverman threw her 13th complete game and fourth shutout of the season. The lefty struck out four Mountaineers and allowed six hits on the day.
GAME TWO
The Blue Devils wasted no time in taking the lead once again in Sunday's second game with a two-run bottom of the first inning. Camara and sophomore Kaitlin Paterson ignited the premier rally with a single and a two-bagger, respectively.
Debrosse walked to juice the base path with CCSU's second-leading hitter, freshman Sydney Bolan up to bat. Bolan scored Camara on a deep fly out to right field, and McNulla continued the series with a RBI-single to second base that scored Paterson.
Senior pitcher Emily Sargent surrendered just one Mountaineer hit in the first three innings as she controlled the tempo of the game.
Central Connecticut broke a productive bottom of half of the fourth that scored a pair of runs that put Mount St. Mary's behind 4-0. McNulla fueled the spurt with a lead-off double to left-center field, and forced the Mount to make a pitching change.
After back-to-back hit batters, Constantin capitalized on a bases-loaded opportunity with an RBI-single to second base. The Mountaineer second baseman threw away the ball to first, allowing freshman Megan Dugas to score.
Mount St. Mary's threatened in the top of the seventh inning, filling the base path with two outs and its cleanup hitter at the plate. Sargent completed the senior day sweep after scooping up a weak ground ball to throw to first for the final out.
Sargent struck out six Mountaineers and gave up seven hits her 16th complete game. The veteran recorded her second shutout of the season and advances to 8-11.
Both McNulla and Paterson went 2-or-3 with a double to lead the Blue Devil attack. Constantin notched two RBI's and Camara was 2-for-4 in a collective win.