BOSTON, MA – Freshman first baseman Alexandra Wysota (Manhasset, NY) and junior center fielder Brittany Rochford (Irvine, CA) combined to knock in nine runs to lead the Emerson College softball team to a Great Northeast Athletic Conference doubleheader sweep over host Mount Ida College this afternoon, winning the first game, 9-1, and the second contest, 11-2, at Rotch Field in Boston, MA. The game's location was moved to Boston, because of unplayable field conditions in Newton. The Lions have won nine of their last 11 games and improve to 11-9 overall, including a perfect 8-0 in GNAC play, while the Mustangs fall to 4-9 and 1-5.
Wysota was 2-5 on the day with five runs batted in for Emerson, while Rochford struck the decisive blow in the nightcap with a grand slam.
Freshman catcher Cassie Durand (Dracut, MA) led the Mustangs, going 3-6 with a double and two RBI and junior shortstop Kirsten Guerrero (Fairfield, CT) and senior pitcher Devan Meeker (Bantam, CT) contributed with two hits apiece.
The Lions wasted no time in the opening game, scoring four times in the top of the first. Freshman right fielder Amanda Horton (Riverside, RI) (single), freshman second baseman Courtney Fee (Port Jefferson, NY) (single) and Rochford (walk) loaded the bases without an out to set up a sacrifice fly from junior left fielder Bianca Buono (San Diego, CA) to put the first run on the board for Emerson. Wysota later cleared the bases with a double to left center to give the visitors a 4-0 lead. Mount Ida's lone run came in the bottom of the second when Guerrero blasted her team-leading fourth home run of the season over the left field fence to cut the deficit to 4-1.
The Lions took advantage of an error in the third frame to score a pair of runs and added another later in the inning, thanks to an RBI single off the bat of junior designated player Alexandra Magistro (Hackettstown, NJ) to increase their lead to 7-1. Emerson tacked on single runs in the fourth and sixth innings to put the game away. Rochford led off the fourth with a ground-rule double and came around to score when Buono laced a single to left center. Buono later scored herself in the sixth when she ripped a two-out double to left center and scored on a single by junior shortstop Shannon Torosian (Stoneham, MA).
Junior hurler Alicia Daniele (Mahwah, NJ) threw six innings of three-hit ball, while yielding a walk and striking out nine to earn the victory and improve to 6-4 on the season for the Lions. Meeker (3-5) was saddled with the loss for the Mustangs after giving up nine runs (eight earned) on 12 hits and a walk, while fanning a pair of batters.
Rochford broke open a scoreless game two with a one-out grand slam in the top of the third to score Wysota (single), Daniele (double) and Horton (single) and give Emerson a 4-0 lead. Buono and Torosian followed with back-to-back singles to set up an RBI single from Magistro. Torosian later scampered home on a sacrifice fly from Wysota to pad the Lions' cushion to 6-0 after three innings of play. Mount Ida cracked the scoring column in the bottom of the sixth when freshman Kaitlyn Berube (Fall River, MA) was hit by a pitch and Guerrero drew a walk followed by a sacrifice bunt from sophomore first baseman Nikole Soto (Marlboro, MA) to put the runners in scoring position. Durand smacked a double to the base of the left field fence to score both runners and pull the Mustangs to within 6-2, but it would be as close as the home team would come as Emerson scored five times in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Sophomore Nikki Delaney (San Mateo, CA), Daniele and sophomore right fielder Jamie Bougie (Sanford, ME) all sparked the rally with run-scoring singles, while Wysota brought home a run with her second sacrifice fly of the afternoon.
Magistro was outstanding in the circle for the Lions as well, tossing a complete game victory, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk to go with three strikeouts in seven innings to improve to 1-1 on the season. Meeker (3-6) gave up 11 runs (10 earned) on 16 hits and a walk, while setting down two batters on strikes for Mount Ida.
Buono was 5-7 with a double, four runs scored and two RBI for Emerson, while Horton and Torosian each collected four hits on the day.
Mount Ida will be in action again on Tuesday, April 2 when it heads to Weston, MA to take on Regis College (MA) in a twinbill at 5:00 p.m., while the Lions return to play April 3, hosting St. Joseph College (CT) at 6:00 p.m. at Rotch Field.