BRISTOL, R.I. – It was a Good Friday to remember for Madison Tobin (Pittsfield, Mass.) as it was particularly good for the sophomore who collected three hits, including her first career home run across two games for the Roger Williams University Softball team as they played Nichols College to a doubleheader split on Friday afternoon at Paolino Field. Lia Nocella (Tyngsboro, Mass.) was terrific in a game one victory, 3-1 before the Hawks dropped a barnburner in the second contest, 10-9.
 
With the split, RWU moves to 6-22 on the season including 3-7 in Commonwealth Coast Conference games. The Bison, meanwhile, move to 7-15, 4-6 against conference competition.
 
In a pitcher's duel in game one, Nocella carved up the Bison accumulating a season-high seven strikeouts in a complete game effort allowing just one run on four hits and a walk to improve to 3-7. Alyssa Ouellette (Auburn, N.H.) also went the whole way but allowed three runs, all earned, on nine hits, taking the loss to fall to 3-7.
 
Nocella would also factor into the decision in the second game for the hosts though it was unfortunately on the wrong end of things. Despite being the most impressive pitcher to appear in the contest, she did allow a single unearned run in her 3.2 innings of relief to fall to 3-8. Chelsea Indyk (Easthampton, Mass.) threw 4.2 innings out of the bullpen for Nichols, and despite allowing three runs, all earned, on six hits and two walks, she got the win to improve to 3-4 on the season.
 
Hawk Highlights
Game 1
Isabelle Rosado: 3-for-3, 3B, RBI, RS
Madison Tobin: 2-for-2, RBI, RS
Maddie Predaris: 1-for-3, SB, R
Taylor Howell: 1-for-3, RBI
 
Lia Nocella: (W, 3-7), 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
 
For The Opponents
Kamryn Gurnee-Mims: 2-for-3, 2 2B, RBI
Allie Brown: 1-for-3, SB, RS
Mackenzie Jackson: 1-for-3
Jayda Cesar: 0-for-1, BB
 
Alyssa Ouellette: (L, 3-7), 6.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
 
How It Happened
Following a clean top of the first in the circle by Lia Nocella (Tyngsboro, Mass.), the Roger Williams offense went to work staking her to an advantage in the bottom of frame. With one out, Isabelle Rosado (Central Islip, N.Y.) split the left-center field gap and dashed all the way to third for a triple. Taylor Howell (Sandwich Mass.) followed with a pop-up over the second baseman, and it found grass to plate the run and the Hawks grabbed the lead, 1-0.
 
Nichols got some traffic in the second with two outs collecting a single and a walk. However, Nocella extinguished the threat by striking out Hailey Bogusz (Montague, Mass.) and the bats went back to work in the home half. Maddie Predaris (Rye, N.H.) got it started by working back from an 0-2 count to rip a single in front of the right fielder. She proceeded to steal second and came home when Madison Tobin (Pittsfield, Mass.) lined a single into center. Casey Uryga (Berlin, Conn.) dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner and after Sydney Provencal (Cumberland, R.I.) was hit by a pitch, Rosado drove in the run with a single to center and the RWU edge was 3-0.
 
After an uneventful third inning, both squads had good scoring chances in the fourth. Nichols got two on via a Kamryn Gurnee-Mims (Griswold, Conn.) one-out double and a hit batsman. Nocella would wiggle out of it however, by fanning Mackenzie Jackson (Dayville, Conn.) on a pitch in the dirt. Both runners would advance but it would not matter as Tobin made a dazzling defensive play, sliding to her backhand side and throwing out Jayda Cesar (Worcester, Mass.) at first thanks in part to a tremendous split-stretch from Alexandra Lombardo (Thomaston, Conn.). Lombardo would leadoff the next inning with a single and Tobin followed with a knock of her own. At risk of allowing the Hawks to really break the game open, Alyssa Ouellette (Auburn, N.H.) came up big picking up a pair of K's. Rosado followed with a soft single past the second baseman and the hosts tried to get another one as Lombardo attempted to score from second, but it was quite shallow and Gurnee-Mims, despite some hesitation, was able to throw her out at the plate and keep the score at 3-0 Hawks.
 
The Bison finally broke through to get one back in the sixth inning. Allie Brown (Middlebury, Conn.) singled to center than swiped second with one away and Gurnee-Mims flared a double down the rightfield line to score the run. She would advance to third on a passed ball, but Nocella held firm, striking out both Erin Gour (Westfield, Mass.) and Jackson to escape further damage.
 
Nocella would throw a clean seventh to finish her fourth-consecutive complete game in the circle as Roger Williams won, 3-1.
 
Game 2
Madison Tobin: 1-for-3, HR, SB, BB, 2 RBI, RS
Isabelle Rosado: 3-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, 2 RS
Casey Uryga: 2-for-3, 2B, SB, 2 RS
Sydney Provencal: 1-for-5, RBI, 2 RS
 
Ellie Fleming: 3.0+ IP, 8 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Lia Nocella: (L, 3-8), 3.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
 
For The Opponents
Erin Gour: 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB, 2 RBI, 2 RS
Allie Brown: 3-for-4, BB, RBI, RS
Mackenzie Jackson: 2-for-5, 3 RS
Samantha Kostek: 2-for-5, RBI, RS
 
Candice Nelson: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Chelsea Indyk: (W, 3-4), 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
 
How It Happened
Nichols would have a glorious chance to get on the board in the top of the first against Ellie Fleming (Marshfield, Mass.). They loaded the bases immediately against the fifth-year starter, on a trio of singles by the first three batters of the game with Kamryn Gurnee-Mims (Griswold, Conn.), who was fresh off a two-hit game in the first contest, stepping to the plate. She did her job, hitting a rocket to right field but Casey Uryga (Berlin, Conn.) made the catch and made a terrific throw to the plate to send the runner, Samantha Kostek (Oxford, Conn.) darting back to third. Fleming proceeded to strikeout Felicia Burgos (Stoneham, Mass.) and forced a groundout to escape the inning unscathed.
 
Like the first game of the twin bill, Roger Williams would grab a lead in the bottom of the first, doing so in similar fashion. Isabelle Rosado (Central Islip, N.Y.) hit an extra-base hit, this one a double, into left-center with one out. Taylor Howell (Sandwich Mass.) followed by tapping a comebacker to the mound, but she would reach anyways as the pitcher, Candice Nelson (Oxford, Mass.) would airmail the throw to first allowing Rosado to score from second on the play.
 
Things began to get weird, beginning in the second inning. Mackenzie Jackson (Dayville, Conn.) leadoff with a single and came all the way around to score on a double down the leftfield line by Erin Gour (Westfield, Mass.). Felicya DeCicco (Haverhill, Mass.) followed by popping one up over short that Maddie Predaris (Rye, N.H.) could not handle. A wild pitch advanced both runners before a Kostek RBI groundout and an Allie Brown (Middlebury, Conn.) run-scoring single staked the guests to a 2-1 lead.
 
The Hawks had an answer in the home half. Uryga got a two-out single and stole second then Sydney Provencal (Cumberland, R.I.) rolled one over to first. However, the ball got under the glove of Burgos and rolled about four feet behind her. DiCecco backed it up and despite still having time and being about a step from the bag, she tried to flip it, doing so wide of the mark and Provencal reached as Uryga scored from second. After a Rosado single, Howell would pop one into center that dropped in plating Provencal. The throw to the plate was cut off and Burgos tried to back pick Rosado at third. She threw it away though allowing Rosado to score and during all the madness, Howell advanced all the way to third. Nelson then uncorked wild pitch and Howell tried to score and while she was out at the plate, the damage was done with three unearned runs as the Hawks retook the lead, 4-3.
 
The Bison answered with a pair in the top of the third via a DeCicco RBI-single and another run scoring on an E5, grabbing a 5-4 edge but the RWU offense would explode in the bottom of the frame. Predaris drew a one-out walk ahead of Madison Tobin (Pittsfield, Mass.) who hit a rocket on a 1-1 pitch sending it over the fence in left for her first collegiate home run. The Bison promptly made a change in the circle as Chelsea Indyk (Easthampton, Mass.) entered and Alexandra Lombardo (Thomaston, Conn.) greeted her with a single. Lombardo would advance on an Alex Burdick (Jewett City, Conn.) groundout. Francesca Cioffi (Brewster, N.Y.) would pinch hit and rip an RBI-single to right, advancing to second on the throw home and Uryga subsequently reentered to run. She scored on a Provencal single, and Rosado brought Provencal in with a double to left center as the hosts had built themselves a 9-5 lead though it would not last.
 
Nichols responded quickly in the top of the fourth. Brown drew a walk ending Fleming's outing in the circle as Taylor Myers (East Haven, Conn.) entered and promptly walked a batter before Burgos reached on a bunt single. Lilly Fangel (Natick, Mass.) brought in the inherited runner on a sacrifice fly but a single and a free pass that forced in a run, forced another change in the circle as the Hawks wound up turning to Lia Nocella (Tyngsboro, Mass.) again. She forced a lineout but then a pair of runs, the second of which was the tying tally, scored on an E3 and things were knotted up at nine.
 
Indyk and Nocella settled things down from there, posting zeros with the lone exception coming in the sixth. With two away, the Bison got three-straight singles, the last of which was off the bat of Brown and was a comebacker that just got by Nocella before Predaris failed to glove it cleanly and due to her bobble, Kostek managed to score from second.
 
Roger Williams got the tying run on second and the winning run on first with one out in the seventh, but they could not get it in, and they ultimately fell, 10-9.
 
What's Next
Roger Williams will return to the diamond when they travel to play UMass-Dartmouth on Wednesday, April 20^th for one game against the Corsairs. First pitch is set for 4:00 PM.