(Newton, MA) The Rivier University Softball earned a Great Northeast Athletic Conference double-header split this afternoon as they took game one 5-1 before dropping game two 7-6 in extra frames against Mount Ida College.
Game One: Rivier University 5, Mount Ida College 1 (Final)
Junior pitcher Hillary Tarr (North Easton, MA) was outstanding in the opening game for the Raiders, yielding just one run on five hits, while fanning four in seven complete innings to pick up the 5-1 win.
Rivier got all the runs they would need for the game in the first inning, on run-scoring singles by junior third baseman Kirstie Clark (Brentwood, NH) and freshman first baseman Kathryn Mostone (Pelham, NH) to take a 2-0 lead.
The Mustangs cut the margin in half on an RBI double off the bat of junior Kirsten Guerrero (Fairfield, CT) in the bottom of the inning, but it would be all their scoring for the rest of the contest. The Raiders capitalized on a miscue on the seventh for two of their three runs in the frame to give them a 5-1 lead.
Senior Marissa Mercier (North Smithtown, RI) and freshman Sahara Brown (Barnstead, NH) collected three hits apiece in the opening game to pace the Raider offense. Both Tarr and Mostone had two hits while junior Nicole Peacock (Warwick, RI) and Clark added single base knocks in the contest.
Game Two: Mount Ida College 7, Rivier University 6 (8 innings)
The Raiders scored the first four runs of the game in the first inning. Tarr forced in the first run when she grounded into a double play with no outs and the bases loaded. Freshman right fielder Libby Sammon (Rockland, MA) followed with a two-out double down the left field line to give the visitors a 3-0 margin, before Brown reached on an infield single to bring home the fourth run of the frame. Rivier added another run in the third when it loaded the bases with no outs on singles by Tarr and Mostone and a hit-by-pitch by Sammon. Brown reached on a fielder's choice to knock in the run to increase the visitor's lead to 5-0.
The Mustangs answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning when they loaded the bases on singles from senior second baseman Tiffany Hamann (Newton, MA) and Guerrero and a walk from senior left fielder Devan Meeker (Bantam, CT). Freshman catcher Cassie Durand (Dracut, MA) then came through with a two-out double to cut the deficit to 5-2. The Raiders took advantage of a pair of errors in the fourth to tack on their last run of the afternoon for a 6-2 cushion.
Senior center fielder Chaise Courbron (Monroe, CT), Hamann and freshman designated player Kaitlyn Berube (Fall River, MA) all singled to load the bases with one out to set up a two-run double to center field off the bat of Guerrero to pull Mount Ida to within 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning of game two. The Mustangs knotted the score at 6-6 when Durand was intentionally walked to load the bases and sophomore Gina Onorevole (Lafayette, NJ) followed with a fly ball that landed just inside the right field line and just out of the reach of the Rivier defense to plate two more runs. Courbron began the bottom of the eighth on second base for Mount Ida and Hamann beat out an infield single, before Berube reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases for Guerrero. She delivered the winning run with a single to center field to end the two hour and 10 minute contest.
Rivier will be back in action on Sunday afternoon when they host Johnson and Wales University in a GNAC double-header up on Raider Diamond. First pitch is scheduled for 1pm.
