BOSTON – Emmanuel softball came away with a split of Friday night's doubleheader in their last regular season home games of the season, as the Saints and Saint Joseph's Monks will head to the final day of the season to determine the seeding for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Postseason.

A split of the doubleheader moves the Saints to 13-21 (7-3 GNAC North), while the Monks go to 15-21 (7-3 GNAC North). Fellow GNAC North schools Rivier and Simmons are also 7-3 in the division, headed for Sunday's final games.

Prior to the start of game two, the Saints celebrated Senior Night, celebrating the careers of Taylor Chelak, Abigail Farr, Sammy Hayes, Rebecca Markie, Madison Marks, Amanda Penney, and Brenna Whittaker.

GAME ONE: Emmanuel 5 – Saint Joseph's 3
The Saints opened game one with a two-run victory, scoring the majority of their runs in the first inning, and later adding insurance to secure the win.

Saint Joseph's opened the game with a 1-0 lead thanks to a solo home run to left field in the top of the first, with junior Sadie Tirrell hitting the first of two Monks homers in game one.

Emmanuel responded in the bottom half of the first, starting the inning with a leadoff walk and single to put two runners on. Chelak stepped in and delivered an RBI double down the left-field line, tying the game. Farr followed with a sacrifice fly, while the Saints gained a 3-1 advantage on an RBI single by Penney.

Another sacrifice fly, this time in the bottom of the third, thanks to Marks, helped score sophomore Mia Fernandes from third, giving Emmanuel a 4-1 edge. The Monks responded in the top of the fourth with another solo home run, coming off the bat of junior Chantelle Bouchard, cutting the deficit to 4-2.

Yet another Saints sacrifice fly awaited in the bottom of the fifth as Penney flew out to right field, scoring Chelak from third, giving the home side a 5-2 lead.

The Monks got in on the sacrifice flies in the top of the sixth as senior Sylvia Foley got the Monks back within two runs at 5-3. Saint Joseph's returned in the top of the seventh, but a 1-2-3 inning retired the side, as the Saints took the opening game.

Penney finished 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI. Chelak and Fernandes each went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Marks pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on six hits, improving to 8-8 with the win.

Foley finished 2-for-2 for the Monks, including a double in the second inning. Tirrell went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, one RBI, and two runs scored. Senior Madison Pelletier pitched six innings, allowing five runs, four earned, on nine hits, dropping to 5-9 in the loss.

GAME TWO: Saint Joseph's 7 – Emmanuel 5
The night's second game required extra innings as the Monks came away with a critical win in keeping their hopes alive for the GNAC North's top seed.

The top of the eighth started with a runner on second and a single into right field to put runners on the corners. Senior Abby Carpenter delivered the eventual game-winning run with a sacrifice fly, giving the Monks a 6-5 lead. An RBI groundout later in the inning scored Carpenter, giving Saint Joseph's a two-run edge.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Saints had two runners in scoring position with two outs, but a final groundout to the shortstop ended the Emmanuel threat, giving the Monks a 7-5 win.

Emmanuel had their chance in the bottom of the seventh to earn a walk-off win, as the inning started with a single by Farr. After first-year Samantha Serio came in to pinch run, a perfect bunt by rookie Olivia DeMacedo, went for a base hit and moved Serio all the way to third.

Two batters later, a squeeze bunt for the win nearly came off the bat of Hayes, but an individual effort by the Monks catcher found her gather the bunt and tag out Serio at the plate. Still with a chance for the Saints to walk-off with two outs, the Monks forced a groundout to head to extras.

The Saints required a comeback to force extra softball, trailing 5-2 after the top of the fourth. A pair of runs in the fourth pulled the Saints to within one, while the comeback to tie the game would be complete on a solo home run by Fernandes in the sixth.

Fernandes and sophomore Francesca Pizzarella both finished with two hits, including a home run each, and two RBI apiece.

UP NEXT
With the final day of the regular season on Sunday and four teams vying for hosting responsibilities for the GNAC Postseason, the top seed in the North comes down to the final day.

With all the games on Sunday and a four-way tie at 7-3 GNAC North needing to be settled, Emmanuel heads to Anna Maria, Rivier hosts Norwich, and, in arguably the most intriguing of all the matchups, Saint Joseph's hosts fellow 7-3 GNAC North Team, Simmons.