BANGOR, Maine – The No. 20 Husson University softball team made a statement in its opening-round victory over SUNY Morrisville in the North Atlantic Conference tournament, winning 18-0 in five innings over the Mustangs at O'Keefe Field on Thursday afternoon.
Husson (33-4) did damage in each of its four turns at-bat, starting with a four-run first inning, as senior Jess Pomerleau got the scoring started following a bunt that allowed graduate student Katie Raymond to utilize some savvy base-running to score from first-base on the play. Senior Kenzie Dore took advantage of a bases-loaded situation later on in the inning with a bases-clearing triple to right-center field to make it 4-0 Eagles after the opening-inning.
The Eagles doubled their advantage in their following turn at-bat, as a sacrifice fly from junior Bulla McCabe and a double from classmate Tori Exel each posted one run, while Dore connected on her fifth home run of the season to plate two additional runs and bring the lead to 8-0 for Husson.
Following a three-run home-half of the third for the Eagles, which saw sophomore Lydia Rice tally an RBI-groundout, in addition to RBI-hits from Raymond and Pomerleau, Husson exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth.
The Eagles got their first four runs of the inning courtesy of two wild pitches and two bases-loaded walks and got their last three runs of the contest on the second home run of the contest from Dore, bringing the game to its final score of 18-0.
Sophomore Danielle Masterson got the start in the circle and cruised to her 12th win of the year, lasting four innings and surrendering just one hit and two walks, while punching out eight Morrisville (15-18) batters. Classmate Emily Rerick finished off the fifth inning, allowing no runs on no hits and no walks.
Dore had a historic day at the plate for Husson, tying the program single-game records for home runs and RBIs, as she posted two round-trippers and eight RBIs. Raymond and Pomerleau each tallied two hits, while McCabe drove in two runs in the contest for the Eagles. Exel also made some history with her RBI-double in the second inning, as she became the single-season leader in doubles in Husson history.
The Eagles advance to the winner's bracket portion of the NAC tournament bracket and will face the winner of Thomas College and SUNY Poly tomorrow at 1 p.m.
