American International College

WORCESTER, Massachusetts - The American International College softball team went 1-3 in a Northeast 10 Conference series at Assumption University, falling 10-2 in five innings and 7-6 in eight innings on Saturday, April 25 and splitting on Sunday, April 26 with a 6-2 win and 9-1 six-inning loss.

AIC is now 13-29 overall and 9-21 in the NE10.

The first game on Saturday saw the Greyhounds jump to a 1-0 lead on a four-base error in center field, but Lauryn Ramalho made up for it by smacking a two-run single to left after hits by Morgan Bemont, Macey Burns, and Brooklyn Cividanes loaded the bases with two outs. 

Assumption tied things up in the third without a hit, scoring thanks to a walk, stolen base, sacrifice bunt, and sacrifice fly, but the big frame was the fourth. The Greyhounds scored eight times, with two home runs by Bella Mara including a leadoff shot and a three-run blast to left as part of an inning that saw 12 plate appearances for the home side. They then stopped AIC from scoring in the fifth to invoke the run rule.

The second game looked like it was headed the same way as Assumption scored four times in the first and sent eight batters to the dish, but AIC battled back to get three in the third as Isabel Kahli Robinson singled, Jilien Ayala walked, and Nevaeh Trejo singled to score Robinson. Back-to-back grounders by Bemont and Burns scored Ayala and Trejo respectively to make it a one-run game.

AIC then flipped it the following inning. Julia Krijgsman drove a 1-2 pitch to center to lead off and scored when Ramalho tripled to right; Ayala drove her fellow outfielder in two batters later to put AIC up 5-4.

The Yellow Jackets added another run in the next inning as Bemont and Burns both singled; Krijgsman hit a deep enough fly ball to right that Bemont was able to score for a 6-4 lead.

Assumption began its comeback in the bottom of the fifth, with a single, stolen base, and groundout driving in a run. A double followed, and Assumption threatened to tie the game, but Trinity LaValley was able to draw a flyout and then earned an eight-pitch strikeout to silence the threat.

In the seventh, the Greyhounds tied the contest with a triple and single. They loaded the bases, but could not score the winning run in the frame. However, they were able to push the winning run home in the eighth, with a bases-loaded single by Bella Mara to win the game.

Sunday's first game went scoreless until the third inning. Ayala, Bemont, and Burns all hit singles to load the bases, and it was Cividanes who played the hero, drilling a 1-1 offering into the right-center gap to bring them all in. 

Assumption netted a run in the fourth, but AIC answered back with three in the fifth. Trejo singled, Burns walked, and Cividanes singled to pack the bags again. Krijgsman followed with a flare to right to score Trejo, and Ramalho singled through the middle to score Burns. A wild pitch brought Cividanes home to cap the scoring off.

With a 6-1 lead, Gabrielle Lambert was able to work with less stress in the circle and it showed as she sat down the next five hitters. Assumption did score in the sixth with three singles, but a groundout ended any further threat, and she slammed the door in the seventh with a 1-2-3 frame on eight pitches to finish the complete game win, allowing two runs on five hits with four punchouts total and needing 91 pitches to go the distance.

As with the previous day, Assumption exploded offensively in the first of game two; the Greyhounds scored five times to take a sizable early lead, then added a run in the second as well.

AIC did get that back in the third, with a Ramalho walk, Ayala single, and Bemont bunting spectacularly up the first base line for an RBI single, but that was the balance of the scoring for the Yellow Jackets, and with two in the fourth and one in the sixth, Assumption activated the run rule for the 9-1 win. 

Cividanes ended up with a .750 average for the weekend with six hits in eight at-bats, while Bemont collected five hits and Burns, Ayala, Trejo, and Ramalho each had four.

AIC finishes the road portion of the regular season Tuesday, April 28 with a pair at Southern New Hampshire. First pitch is slated for 2:30 p.m.