Worcester, Mass. (April 17) -- In a Northeast-10 Conference divisional doubleheader on Thursday afternoon, the Assumption College softball team earned a split with visiting Bentley University at Marois Field. The Falcons took game one by a 5-1 final, followed by a 7-3 Assumption victory in the second game on a blustery afternoon.

In game one, the Falcons struck for a trio of early runs with two outs to take the early advantage. With two outs, Kelly Sanborn hit a high fly ball that looked like the final out, but the ball fell between two Hounds infielders as Sam Tierney scored the game's first run. That was followed by a two-RBI double to left center by pitcher Halley McDevitt as the Falcons went in front 3-0 heading to the bottom of the second.

The game stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth as senior captain Tanya Robidoux (Hooksett, N.H./Manchester Central) led off the inning with a double to left and later came home on an RBI single to left by junior Ashley Impagliazzo (Glocester, R.I./LaSalle Academy) as the Hounds cut the lead to 3-1. Bentley capped off the scoring in the top of the seventh though with a pair of insurance runs on a two-RBI double that one-hopped the center field fence for the 5-1 final margin.

Senior Jenn Lattal (Windsor, Conn./Windsor) picked up the loss for the Hounds as she went the distance while allowing seven hits with five runs and five strikeouts to drop to 3-5 overall. McDevitt earned the win for Bentley to improve to 3-3 as she went six innings with four hits and one run. Impagliazzo led the offense with a pair of hits in the game as she was 2-for-3 with one RBI.

In the second game, Bentley struck first with a run in the first, but the Hounds answered quickly to take control. After Chelsea Vena led off the game with a single up the middle, she eventually scored on a single thru the left by Alex Borrelli for the early lead. In the bottom of the second, Assumption put together a four-run inning for the 4-1 lead. After junior Jess DiPilato (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name) reached on a fielding error by the Falcons, Impagliazzo roped a double that dropped just inside the left field foul line to have two in scoring position with no outs.

Senior Nikki Boris (Gardner, Mass./Gardner) scored on a dropped fly ball by the Falcon center fielder that scored DiPilato, followed by a two-RBI double by sophomore Kayli Moniz (Fairhaven, Mass./Fairhaven) and an RBI single to short by freshman Cassidy Colby (Charlton, Mass./Shepherd Hill) for the 4-1 edge. Assumption added three runs in the bottom of the fifth as a three-RBI double off the right center field fence by freshman Ashley Abad (Bedford, N.H./Bedford) staked the Hounds to a commanding 7-1 edge. The Falcons scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh, en route to the 7-3 home win for Assumption.

Freshman Courtney Oliva (Vernon, Conn./Vernon) went the distance for the Hounds to improve to 5-3 in her rookie season as she scattered eight hits with three runs allowed (one earned) with two strikeouts. Carly Taitz lasted just 1.1 innings for Bentley, taking the loss to fall to 3-4 on the season. DiPilato led the offense with two hits in the game, along with three RBI by Abad.

With the split, Assumption sits at 11-17 overall and 4-9 in the division, while Bentley is now 14-13 overall and 6-5 in divisional play.

Assumption is scheduled to be back in action on Friday, April 18 as the Hounds travel to Saint Michael's College for a divisional doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. in Colchester, Vt.

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