MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College softball team managed just one run on the day as they fell in both sides of a double-header to Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe Nichols College. The wins bring the Bison to 11-8-1 overall, with a 4-2 mark in the CCC. The Colonels remain in search of their first conference win at 0-6 while their season total runs to 10-13.

Game One: Nichols 4, Curry 1

Each team worked through a scoreless opening frame, but Nichols would strike first in the second, as a fly ball off the bat of Samantha Kostek (Oxford, Conn.) dropped in thanks to an error, which cleared the bases and brought three runs around to score. The 3-0 lead would hold until the fifth, when the visitors padded their advantage thanks to another Curry miscue, this time as Callie Andrews (Southbridge, Mass.) crossed the plate thanks to an errant throw. Trailing by four runs with just three hits to show through five innings, the Colonels began to make some noise in the sixth, as back-to-back singles led off the inning. Two batters later, a sacrifice fly brought Liana Duarte (Taunton, Mass.) to the plate with the first Curry run of the day, but Nichols managed to end the inning while retaining a 4-1 edge. Despite a two-out single by Allison May (West Bridgewater, Mass.) in the bottom of the seventh, Alexis Ferris (Holyoke, Mass.) stifled the Curry comeback effort by inducing a ground ball out to wrap up game one.

May and Kiana Lloyd (Worcester, Mass.) put up matching 2-for-3 games while Alexis Buckner (Foxborough, Mass.) registered the only Colonel RBI of the afternoon. Taylor Newcomb (Millville, Mass.) evens up at 3-3 on the year, giving up four runs (0 earned) over seven full innings. Ferris moves to 6-4 with a complete game that saw nine strikeouts, while Amanda Alioto (Patchogue, N.Y.) paced the Bison offense with a pair of hits.

Game Two: Nichols 7, Curry 0

Coming off the early win, Nichols got right back to business as the back half of the twin bill got started. The first three batters recorded hits to start the game, capped by an Alioto double to left center, which drove in a pair. Jocelyn Dimond (Weare, N.H.) reached on an error to start the Colonels' half of the first, but she would be the last Curry baserunner until Michaela Colleran (East Bridgewater, Mass.) benefitted from another Nichols mistake in the fourth. The hosts managed their first hit of the day two batters into the fifth inning as Jordan Perzan (Burlington, Conn.) poked one to left, but it came after the Bison notched another pair of runs in the top of the frame, extending their advantage to 4-0. The top of the sixth saw more of the same, with Nichols bringing three runs home as Curry suffered through another error. Over the ensuing innings, Candice Nelson (Oxford, Mass.) completed a dominant performance, retiring the final four batters she faced to pick up the complete game victory with a final score of 7-0.

Kostek recorded an RBI and three runs scored while going 2-for-4 at the dish. Alioto also lit it up with the bat, driving in four runs on three hits. Nelson (5-2) picks up her seventh complete game of the year, shutting out the Colonels and allowing just seven baserunners throughout game two. Carrigan Costello (Wolcott, Conn.) was hurt by four Curry errors and a lack of run support, as she is saddled with seven runs (two earned) and the loss to move to 3-4 on the year. Buckner and Perzan posted the only two hits for the hosts in the second contest.

As the weekend continues, Curry will get back on the field tomorrow, Sunday, April 7. The Colonels head to CCC opponent Gordon to make up a pair of games originally scheduled for April 5. Game one will begin at 1:00 p.m. in Wenham, Mass. Nichols will travel to face Elms College on Thursday, April 11 in their final non-conference road trip of the year. First pitch of the double-header in is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in Chicopee, Mass.

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