Boston - The Saints welcomed UMass-Boston to Clemente Field on Thursday night, dropping both matches of the doubleheader against the non-conference foe. Emmanuel's (3-13) bats just never got going against the elite pitching from the Beacons (7-3). In the second match, the Saints pitching kept them in the game, they just could never string enough hits to keep pace, leading to a hard-fought defeat.
 
Game One: UMass-Boston 13 Emmanuel 1 (Final/ 5 innings)
In the first game of the night, the Beacons bats were the difference, as a home run in the first inning from Lauren Miner opened the scoring and set the tone for the rest of the match.
 
UMass-Boston tacked on an extra run in the third inning, but it was the 5th inning that was the big difference in the match. A grand slam from the Beacons brought home the first of 11 runs in the inning. This led to a run-rule in the 5th inning as the Saints dropped the first match by a score of 13-1.
 
First year Carmen Crockett had a solid start on the bump, pitching in three innings, striking out three and only giving up two earned runs.
 
Sophomore Grace Garon recorded a hit and two walks along with an RBI. Mia Fernandes and Emely Rodriguez also chipped in a hit each.
 
Game Two: UMass-Boston 3 Emmanuel 0
The Saints pitching turned it around in the nightcap, only giving up three runs over the full seven innings, with Crockett and MeKayla Poisson combining for 5 strikeouts and three total runs. It was the Beacons starting pitcher Izzy Levasseur who stole the show, pitching seven shutout innings and only allowing two hits.
 
The game remained knotted at zero through four innings as both starting pitchers dueled on the mound. In the fifth inning, UMass-Boston finally broke through, as an error and a wild pitch from Emmanuel, sandwiched by a sac bunt in between contributed to the three runs in the inning.
 
Those three runs in the fifth were the only runs scored in the final game of the day, as the Saints offense could never get it going, losing 3-0.
 
Another solid performance from Crockett on the mound, pitching three innings, striking out five and giving up zero earned runs. Fernandes and Junior Francesca Pizzarella tallied the two hits on the evening for the Saints.
 
Up Next:
Emmanuel returns to Clemente on Saturday afternoon as they host a doubleheader with New England College. The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) clash gets underway at 12:00 PM, with the second game following at 2:00 PM.