FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Western New England College softball team completed a successful week at the Cusic Classic by defeating New Paltz 6-1 and Franklin & Marshall 2-1 Thursday (March 19) at the Lee County Sports Complex.
Senior shortstop Brittany DeGennaro (Ornage, CT) led the 14-hit attack in the opener by going 5-for-5 with a pair of doubles, two runs-batted-in, and a run scored.
Sophomore catcher Elyse Gauvin (Swansea, MA) went 3-for-5 with a run while sophomore first base player Trish Breault (Millville, MA) was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
Sophomore rightfielder Erin Griffin (Lowell, MA) also contributed a pair of hits with an RBI.
Senior pitcher Laura Bower (Hudon, MA) gained her first victory of the season with a complete game effort. She allowed only four hits with a walk and strikeout, and didn't allow an earned run.
The Hawks lost for only the second time in seven outings.
In the second game, Breault went 2-for-2 and had the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the fifth.
Freshman designated hitter Sarah Lempicki (Southington, CT) tied the game with an RBI single in the fourth. She also pitched the last two innings to gain the save.
Junior Vic Lospinuso (West Islip, NY) was the winning pitcher after giving up only three hits in five innings with three strikeouts and a walk.
Franklin & Marshall drops to 9-4.
Western New England College posted a 6-4 record during its week in the Sunshine State.
Breault led the Golden Bears with a .567 average followed by freshman outfielder Mallory Householder (Ellington, CT) with a .440 mark. DeGennaro was next at .424 followed by Lempicki at .355 and Gauvin at .323.
Lempicki also had a 2-1 record while Lospinuso compiled a 3-1 mark and a 1.06 earned-run-average in 17 innnings.
