FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Curry College softball team lost to Martin Luther College, 10-2 in five innings,  and to Alfred State College in a close 3-2 bout on Monday at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic. With the two setbacks, the Colonels now sit at 1-3 on the young season.

Game One – Martin Luther College 10, Curry 2 (Five Innings)

Martin Luther finished with three extra-base hits —including homers by sophomore Kylie Wolf (Greenville, Wis.) and sophomore Elena Hoffman (Florence, S.D.). Junior Brett Burger (Lake Mills, Wis.) led the way with three hits. Junior Brittany Denn (New Ulm, Minn.), Hoffman, and junior Samantha Schoch (Vanderbilt, Mich.) tallied two hits apiece.

The teams traded single runs in the first inning. Senior Michaela Colleran (East Bridgewater, Mass.) drove in the initial run on a sacrifice fly to right field to plate sophomore Liana Duarte (Taunton, Mass.). The Knights found the equalizer when Wolf reached on an error, which allowed senior Becca Doering (Lake Mills, Wis.) to score.

Martin Luther broke the game open in the next two frames by scoring nine runs. Denn brought in two on a double to left center and then Wolf cleared the bases with a three-run homer. Doering continued the scoring as she reached on an error, which sent Burger home. Hoffman closed the scoring with a three-run dinger to center to make the score 10-1.

The Colonels got a run back in the fourth as junior Jocelyn Dimond (Weare, N.H.) singled to center field to plate sophomore Alexis Buckner (Foxborough, Mass.).

Junior Taylor Newcomb (Millville, Mass.) (5-7 overall) got the starting nod and allowed 10 runs (seven runs) on nine hits.

Game Two – Alfred State 3, Curry 2

Curry took a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI groundout by sophomore Sienna Kulpa (Taunton, Mass.), which helped score Newcomb. The Colonels added a second run in the next inning on a Colleran single to right field to plate Perzan.

The Pioneers made up the difference in the fourth. After three straight singles, sophomore Arianna Traugott (Elmira, N.Y.) added a single of her own to score sophomore Brittany Fisher (Indianapolis, Ind.). Later in the frame, senior Betsy Butlak (Angola, N.Y.) registered a single. On the play, sophomore Marissa Varela (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) scored on a throwing error and Lovell also crossed home for the 3-2 advantage.

The Colonels put the winning run on base in the seventh, but were unable to push it across. Junior Alex Chase (Biddeford, Maine) recorded a pinch-hit single, followed by a one-out base hit from junior Jordan Perzan (Burlington, Conn.) to have runners on first and second. Two fly-outs ended the one-run contest.

Traugott was credited with the win, tossing the final two innings. She allowed four hits and a walk. Junior Carrigan Costello (Wolcott, Conn.) was tagged with the loss in the circle. She allowed three runs on eight hits over six innings while fanning six.

Curry continues its Florida swing with two contests on Tuesday March 10 against Nazareth and SUNY Canton at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., respectively.

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