Regis Softball Opens Season in Myrtle Beach

Regis College opened the season at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic in South Carolina, going 0-for-2 with losses to Bridgewater State and Penn State Hazleton.

GAME 1:

LITTLE RIVER, S.C. - Regis College was defeated, 11-3, by Bridgewater State at North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex on Sunday morning.

Regis threatened in the top of the first inning with Andria Braga (Rehoboth, Mass.) and Diana Petrarca (Coventry, R.I.) hitting infield singles and advancing to second and third on a wild pitch. A strikeout by BSU's Madelyn Klingel ended the inning with runners in scoring position.

Chloe Beland (Southborough, Mass.) knocked a line drive single to left field at the top of the second followed by an infield single by Kayla Morrill (Lynn, Mass.) and an error at third base to put runners at second and third. The Bears managed to get out of the jam once again before going on to score four runs in the bottom of the second.

Regis scored its first run of the game in the third inning when Braga singled and managed to reach third on an error by the third baseman. Braga was later driven in by Petrarca who grounded out to shortstop, allowing the run to score from third.

After going down, 0-2, in the count, Beland battled back to a full count before hitting a line drive over the left fielder's head for a triple to lead off the fourth inning. With two outs Bianca Burke (Cambridge, Mass.) hit a line drive single to left field to drive in the Pride's second run and later scored on a wild pitch to cut the Bridgewater lead to 6-3.

The Bears went on another scoring run, taking advantage of a few Regis errors to take an 11-3 lead, ending the game in the sixth inning.

Alicia Habib hit a triple for Bridgewater while Molly Thibaudeau went 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Amelia Blake, Madison Dana, Molly Thibaudeau, Riley Fitzgerald, and Janet Jolly also contributed with RBIs.

GAME 2:

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Regis College was defeated, 9-8, in a back-and-forth contest against Penn State Hazleton Sunday afternoon at Central Park Sports Complex

Braga went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs while managing to score twice for the Pride. Petrarca also had three RBIs, going 2-for-3 including a double.

After an uneventful first four innings, Bri Page (New Boston, N.H.) got the Pride offense going, hitting a home run that sailed well over the 20-foot tall fence in left field to lead off the fifth inning to put Regis on the board. Shortly after, Braga hit a single to drive in Burke who had also singled earlier in the inning. Braga advanced to second when Beland was hit by a pitch and the pair scored off a double by Petrarca to give Regis a 4-1 lead. Unfortunately for the Pride, Penn State Hazleton put up six runs in the bottom half of the inning to retake the lead, 7-4.

Trailing by three heading into the top of the seventh, Burke knocked a single to center field and Beland hit a double over the left fielder's head to put runners on first and second with no outs. Braga cleared the bases with a two-run double down the left field line, putting the Pride within one run (7-6). Petrarca hit a long single off the left field wall on the ensuing at-bat to score another run and tie the game at 7. With two outs Ciara Collins (Lynn, Mass.) pinch hit for a single to center field, scoring the runner from second for the go-ahead run.

The game ended on a walk-off by Tiffany Brogan in the bottom of the seventh who drove in two runs on a single to right-center field to propel Penn State Hazleton past the Pride and end the contest.

Regis College (0-2) continues its trip to South Carolina on Monday, March 6, taking on Kean at 1:00 p.m. and Montclair St. at 3:00 p.m.