NAPLES, Fla. – The Curry College softball team dropped their first game of the day in a tight one, falling 3-1 to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). However, the day was far from lost as an 11-5 victory over Blackburn was enough to split the day's decisions, nearly ending the contest early with the run-ahead rule.
Game One: Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) 3, Curry 1
The Colonels scored first for the third time in three games, taking a 1-0 advantage as a two out single by Kiana Lloyd (Worcester, Mass.) in the top of the third drove in Allison May (West Bridgewater, Mass.). RIT soon answered, however, by taking the lead with some small ball. A Jill Vorreiter (Fisherville, Ky.) RBI tied the score at one before Hannah Trumble (Pittsford, N.Y.) drew a bases loaded walk to take a 2-1 lead. An inning later, a two-out error by the Colonels gave the Tigers an extra out, which they converted into another run, extending their lead to 3-1 on a Laura Weintraub (Syosset, N.Y.) RBI single. Curry, hitless since Lloyd's RBI in the third, put up a valiant effort in the top of the seventh, putting the potential tying runners on base, but a fielder's choice ended the threat and closed the game out in favor of the Tigers.
No batter was able to manage more than a single hit for the Colonels in the losing effort, but Lloyd collected the lone Curry RBI and Jocelyn Dimond (Weare, N.H.) stole her second and third bases of the young season. May is saddled with the bad-luck loss, giving up just two runs and striking out a pair in 3.1 innings of work. In the victory, Trumble, Vorreiter, and Weintraub each posted an RBI while Torie Adler (West Chester, Pa.) earns her third win of the year. Abcde Cortinas (San Antonio, Texas) pitched the first 1.2 innings of the game before handing the ball over to Adler then returned to the mound for the final three innings, closing out the Colonels for her second save.
With the win, RIT moved to 3-2 on the year, before evening up at 3-3 with an afternoon loss to Rockford University. The Tigers will return to action on Wednesday, March 13, for a pair of games at the CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. against Pitt-Bradford (3 p.m.) and St. Joseph (Conn.) (5 p.m.). The morning loss put the Colonels' record at 2-1 heading into game two.
Game Two: Curry 11, Blackburn 5
Fresh off their first loss of the year, Curry turned things around with a bang, scoring six runs in the top of the first inning, which included six straight batters reaching base, highlighted by a two run double by Jordan Perzan (Burlington, Conn.). Through four games, the Colonels have scored first in every contest, thanks largely in part to 18 first inning runs. Dimond would come home on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 7-0 in the third, before a three run fourth inning gave the Colonels a 10-0 lead and a chance to end the game early.
Entering the bottom of the fifth, Curry sat just three outs away from closing the game out thanks to the run-ahead rule, which takes effect should a team be leading by eight or more runs after the trailing team has completed at least five offensive innings. However, the Beavers ensured the match up would play on. With one on and one out, Baylee Hughes (Carlinville, Ill.) homered to bring the deficit to eight, before Lexie Yockey (Pleasant Plains, Ill.) single with two outs and scored on an error, which could have ended the contest. Instead, the teams headed to the sixth with a 10-3 score. The Beavers added two more to cut what once was a 10-0 lead in half, thanks to another two out hit, this time a double to center off the bat of Megan Moseley (Clinton, Ind.) to drive in a pair. Curry got one back in the top of the seventh and managed to close out the bottom of the inning in 1-2-3 fashion to take the tilt by a final of 11-5.
Carrigan Costello shined in this one, striking out a pair in a complete game win on the mound. Lloyd and Molly Horn (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) each enjoyed 3-for-3 days at the plate, while Horn, Caroline Johnson (Milton, Mass.), Taylor Newcomb (Millville, Mass.), and Perzan each drove in a pair. Hughes accounted for the only multi-hit game for the Beavers, going 2-for-4, while collecting two RBI. Moseley also pushed two across the plate. The loss gets handed to Kaitlyn Wade (Winchester, Ill.), after the junior surrendered six runs, four earned in the first. Tessa Beckham (Litchfield, Ill.) pitched just 1.1 innings, but posted all four outs she recorded by way of the K.
After the defeat, Blackburn's record falls to 3-3 on the year while the Colonels go 1-1 on the day and improve to 3-1 overall. Curry is back in action tomorrow with a third straight double-header as they're set to take on the University of St. Joseph (Conn.) in a 9 a.m., all-New England showdown on field #3 at the CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. The Colonels will then stay put to match up with Wilmington College (Ohio) at 11 a.m. The Beavers will also head to the CenturyLink Sports Complex for a Tuesday double-header, getting to work early on field #1 with a 9 a.m. start against Pitt-Bradford. Blackburn's second game of the day will kick off at 11 a.m. versus Nazareth, also on field #1.
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