CAPE CORAL, Fla.- The Roger Williams softball team earned another split on Friday, its final day of spring break competition. In two hitting contests, the Hawks fell to Albright College 14-13 before beating SUNY Potsdam 13-11.
In the morning matchup against Albright, the Hawks got on the board early in the first, scoring two runs. Albright answered in the bottom half, adding a run from a triple and RBI single. Andrea Gregory (Toms River, N.J.) added the only run in the second inning with an RBI single.
The Hawks capitalized on walks and errors in the third, as pitcher Dana Parolari (Bridgewater, N.J.) walked in a run and two runners scored on an error by the left fielder. The inning's other two runs came off the bat of LeEllen Lewis (Brunswick, Md.), who knocked a two-RBI single into left field.
Trailing 8-1, the Lions' Kelli Johnson (Shoemakersville, Pa.) hit a two-run home run in the fourth. The team continued to hit, stringing together four hits for three runs in the fourth. Roger Williams was able to add two runs in the fifth, but it would not be enough, as the bottom half of the inning saw Albright score seven runs, three coming off a home run by Alex Keyes (Nazareth, Pa.) and several more off errors.
The Hawks tied the game in the sixth inning, but could not score in the seventh, leaving the door open for the Lions. This time, it was Albright making the most of fielding and throwing errors, as they scored the winning run to finish the game 14-13.
Freshman pitcher Rachel Urato (Williamsville, Vt.), who replaced Gregory on the mound in the fifth, made her pitching debut in the game, facing 13 batters in 2.2 innings. With the game's late scoring, she is now 0-1.
In the day's second game against SUNY Potsdam, it took the Hawks three innings to get on the board, as Gregory had an RBI triple in the third. The Bears answered in the inning's bottom half, taking four hits from pitcher Alexandra Sera (Newton, Mass.), including a two-run home run by Lacey Malbeuf. With the score at 6-1, Lewis gave the Hawks new hope as she pounded a ball to deep center field for a grand slam home run.
In the Bears' fourth, Potsdam's two triples and bases advanced on wild pitches put their team back up, 9-6. Yet Roger Williams would tie it again in the fifth, only to have the Bears put up another run in the inning's bottom half, this time against pitcher Stephanie Collins (Burlington, Mass.), who was also making her debut as a Hawk. The Bears went up by one in the sixth, making the top of the seventh a do-or die situation for the Hawks.
With the bases loaded, Gregory came through with another RBI. Renee Bilotti (Bristol, R.I.) scored on a wild pitch, and senior Callie Nealon (Hopkinton, Mass.) put another run up with a sacrifice fly. Designated hitter Samantha Teves (Somerset, Mass.) furthered the Hawks' lead with her RBI single for the last run of the game. The bottom of the seventh was retired in order, ensuring the Hawks' 13-11 victory.
Teves continued her hot hitting in the game, going four of five. Collins' three innings earned her her first win, as she gave up just two hits with no walks.
Roger Williams returns to New England over the weekend. They will face the Coast Guard Academy for a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader in New London, Conn. on Tuesday.
