BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader on Senior Day to Western New England College Saturday evening, as the Golden Bears won by scores of 4-1 and 7-0.
The pair of losses ultimately eliminates the Hawks from the upcoming Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament. Roger Williams and New England College each finished the season tied for the eighth and final playoff spot with identical 12-12 conference records. The tiebreaker came down to a 2-0 record for New England College against Salve Regina versus a 1-1 record against the Seahawks for RWU. As a result, New England College earns the eighth seed.
Elyse Gauvin (Swansea, Mass.) gave Western New England 1-0 advantage in the second inning of the first game with an RBI single to bring in Kate Post. Roger Williams would respond in the bottom half of the frame, with Melissa Sereti (Shrewsbury, Mass.) scoring on a single by Sarah Grill (Watervliet, N.Y.).
In the following inning, a pair of wild pitches allowed Trish Breault (Millville, N.Y.) to come in from second and regain the lead for Western New England. The Golden Bears would slowly distance themselves from RWU with a run in each of the fifth and seventh innings to grab the win.
Sarah Lempicki (Plantsville, Conn.) gave up only one run in the game for the win, striking out six in the process. She also had a big game at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Rachel Wyrwa (Methuen, Mass.) added a pair of hits for the Golden Bears.
Jaclyn Doolin (Miller Place, N.Y.) dropped the decision, tagged for four runs (three earned) in seven innings. Erica Castro (Medford, N.Y.) ended the game going 2-for-3.
In the second game, Lauren Arsenault's (Fitchburg, Mass.) two-RBI single in the third inning gave Western New England a 2-0 lead, one that the team would not relinquish. Two innings later, the Golden Bears took a commanding 5-0 lead in the fifth off RBI hits by Arsenault, Lempicki, and Sara Barnes (Berkley, Mass.). WNEC would added two more to the scoreboard in the seventh.
Offensively, Roger Williams was stalled in the game, held to only four hits over the course of the contest. In addition, the Hawks were held hitless with runners on base, going 0-for-16 with runners on and 0-8 with runners in scoring position.
The credit for shutting down the RWU offense goes to Meagan Riemann (Dayville, Conn.) and Victoria Lospinuso (West Islip, N.Y.), who combined for the shutout. Riemann scattered the four hits over six innings with eight strikeouts, while Lospinuso tossed a scoreless seventh. Arsenault finished the game 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI.
Stacy Broughton (Newtown, Conn.) was tagged with the loss, giving up two runs on a hit and five walks in 3.1 innings. Kelly Marcin (Windsor Locks, Conn.) gave up five runs (four earned) in 3.2 innings of relief. Castro, Michelle Caprice (Oak Ridge, Conn.), Kerry Burke (Old Saybrook, Conn.) and Hannah Pirez (Bolton, Conn.) each had a hit for RWU in the game.
Western New England will enter the TCCC Tournament as the #3 seed and will play the winner of the #6 Curry College /#7 Nichols College play-in game Tuesday at 2:30 on the campus of the University of New England. Roger Williams concludes the season with an overall record of 20-19 and a conference record of 12-12.
