American International College

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - Saint Anselm College and American International College softball split a Northeast 10 Conference doubleheader on Friday, May 1, with the Hawks taking a 3-2 win in eight frames before the Yellow Jackets grabbed a 7-2 win.

AIC is now 14-32 overall and 10-24 in the NE10.

The Hawks launched their way to a 1-0 lead in the first on a Rose Reitmeyer home run that set the Saint Anselm record for home runs in a career, and added a second run with three more hits in the frame. 

AIC bounced back with a second-inning unearned run. Marilyn Augusta reached on a miscue at third, and Julia Krijgsman followed with a walk. Lauryn Ramalho made the error hurt with a single back through the middle to score Augusta.

In the fourth, AIC scored again, also unearned; Augusta reached, this time on a single up the third base line, and Mikayla Doucette also reached on a grounder back to the pitcher that she mishandled. Ramalho then singled to left, and Augusta scored thanks in part to the outfielder bobbling the ball.

The game remained tied until the eighth, when Reitmeyer struck again, lifting another pitch beyond the fence in left for a solo shot that was the difference in the game.

Despite the loss, Gabrielle Lambert pitched well; she scattered eight hits across the eight frames, needing just 84 pitches to gather 24 outs, including a five-pitch second frame and a rare three-pitch fourth with three flyouts to center.

In game two, the Hawks scored an unearned run of their own, netting the first of the game on two walks and a muffed throw, but Trinity LaValley shut the door from there with back-to-back strikeouts. 

AIC tied the game in the second. Brooklyn Cividanes led off with an 0-2 single to right and took second on a groundout. Krijgsman then worked a six-pitch walk before Brianna Salazar drove a 1-1 offering the opposite way into the right-center gap to score her catcher.

Augusta then led off the fourth with a bang, blasting the first pitch she saw over the left-field fence for her second longball of the season. 

The Hawks grabbed that run right back in the fifth, with a leadoff bunt single from Katie Fox as the first of three straight hits, and a sacrifice fly pushed her home. However, LaValley escaped again as she was able to induce a 6-4-3 double play to end the frame.

Things then came entirely unglued for the Hawks in the sixth. Morgan Bemont, Cividanes, and Augusta all reached on fielding errors to load the bases. Two batters later, Belen Benito hit a grounder to second that was thrown home and muffed by the catcher, scoring Cividanes and Augusta. Salazar hit a sacrifice fly, then Ramalho reached on another error. Jilien Ayala and Nevaeh Trejo followed with a single and a double, each driving in a run, to give AIC a 7-2 lead.

From there, LaValley shut the door, garnering three flyouts to finish a complete game win, with nine hits and two walks allowed against six punchouts. 

The teams will play the final two games of the regular season on Saturday, May 2, with first pitch slated for noon; prior to the game, AIC will celebrate Ayala and Krijgsman with a Senior Day ceremony.