Links: Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – A five run second inning propelled the Merrimack softball team past Sacred Heart after the team's senior day festivities to start the game on Sunday.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 8, Sacred Heart 5 | Final
Records: Merrimack Warriors (11-25, 6-11 NEC) | Sacred Heart Pioneers (13-38, 5-16 NEC)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
Scoring Plays
- The Warriors celebrated eight players for senior day to open the game, as Bry Michitson, Jenna Bradish, Olivia Crowley, Nicole Catino, Catherine Kingman, Danielle Carmody, Nicole Koshes and Jenna Wike were honored prior to their starts in the contest.
- The first runs of the afternoon came from the bat of Jenna Wike, who brought in leadoff hitter Courtney Lanpher after she walked and stole second as Wike struck a hard double to center.
- A leadoff walk started things again for the Warriors in the second, as Nicole Koshes worked back from a deficit in the count for the free base. Sofia Palyan bunted and was able to reach safely after the defense scrambled for the ball in front of the batters' box. Danielle Carmody popped a sacrifice bunt to advance Koshes and Palyan into scoring position before Catherine Kingman scored a run with a single to left. Courtney Lanpher walked to load the bases, with Jenna Bradish sending a single through short to score another run and maintain three on base. Kingman and Lanpher scored on back-to-back passed balls before Wike skied a sacrifice fly to left to score Bradish to make it a six run game.
- Sacred Heart worked its run in the fourth with a single to short with runners on first and second with two outs. Two more would score for the Pioneers in the fifth on a wild pitch for a walk.
- Wike sent a lead off double to left in the bottom of the fifth to get the offense rolling once again. With Sydney Emerson pinch running for her, Sarah Reisler singled to second and used her footspeed to be called safe at first for runners on the corners. Nicole Koshes bunted, scoring Emerson and advancing Reisler to third. Sofia Palyan stepped in, sending a single to center that skipped off the base of the wall to bring in Reisler before she was tagged trying to stretch the play to a double for the final out of the inning.
- The Pioneers scored two more before the game's end, with a wild pitch scoring a runner from third, before a solo home run put the fifth on the board for the visitors in the top of the seventh.
Pitchers of Record
Up Next:
Merrimack will travel to face Bryant in a doubleheader on Tuesday, May 3 with games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
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