BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Softball team halted a six-game skid with a 5-2 win in its doubleheader opener against Nichols College Thursday afternoon, but followed it up with a 3-6 loss to the Bison in the nightcap.
Nichols started the first game off with an RBI double to left off the bat of Chelsea Correia (Seekonk, Mass.) to score Allasyn Lieneck (Oldsmar, Fla.). In the bottom half of the inning, the Hawks answered with an RBI single of their own, with Jaclyn Doolin (Miller Place, N.Y.) bringing in Erica Castro (Medford, N.Y.).
The score remained tied at one until the Hawks put three runs on the board in the fourth inning. Hannah Pirez (Bolton, Mass.) came through with a two-out, two-RBI single up the middle to score Laura McConnell (Lexington, Mass.) and Lauren Tierney (Middleboro, Mass.). Kelly Marcin (Windsor Locks, Conn.) would follow up with an RBI single of her own to score Pirez.
Nichols chipped away at the deficit in the fifth, with Emalee Watkins (Malden, Mass.) scoring from third on a successful double steal, but the Hawks got the run back in the bottom of the frame, with Sarah Grill (Watervliet, N.Y.) singling in Kaitlyn Costa (Cranston, R.I.) to make it a 5-2 game, by which RWU would go on to win.
Doolin went the distance in the win, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and walk with nine strikeouts. Pirez went 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Costa, Grill, and McConnell each finished with two hits and a run scored.
Molly Ferraro (Millis, Mass.) took the loss, tagged for all five runs (four earned) off 11 hits and three walks with three Ks. Lieneck finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, with Chelsea Correia adding a hit and an RBI.
In the second game, the Bison picked up their first run of the game in the second inning, with Chelsea Correia coming in via a wild pitch. Nichols would stretch its lead to four in the fourth, with Jenna Priore (Petersburgh, N.Y.), Lindsay Hassett (Oxford, Mass.), and Lauren Correia (Seekonk, Mass.) each picking up RBI hits in the inning.
The Bison added one more in each of the fifth and sixth innings and appeared to be on their way to an easy victory before the Hawks put a scare into them with a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh. After the first two batters were retired, Castro and Grill reached base via singles, followed by Pirez bringing in both of them home with a two-RBI triple. Pirez scored on the next at-bat on a wide throw from short to make it a 6-3 game. Doolin walked to put the tying run at the plate, but Kara Buckley induced a fly-out to right to end the game.
Buckley earned her third win of the season in the complete game, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits and four walks with a strikeout. Chelsea Correia went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs. Watkins and Barbara Roy (Springfield, Mass.) both had two hits in the contest.
Marcin suffered the setback, giving up six runs (four earned) off of nine hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts. Castro had two hits and a run in the game, with Doolin adding two hits of her own.
Roger Williams (12-19, 10-6) hosts Curry College Saturday evening at 5:00 p.m. in its final home game of the regular season, while Nichols hosts the University of New England Saturday at noon.
