Plymouth, NH – It was a beautiful day at D&M Park, and on a day to celebrate the Plymouth State Softball seniors, the Panthers were able to split with Little East Conference foe Western Connecticut, winning game one 10-7 and losing game two 3-1, to finish the year with an overall record of 24-15 and a LEC record of 9-5, good for a second place finish.
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Game 1: PSU – 10 WCSU – 7
Down 4-1 heading into the fifth inning, the Panthers went on a tear, ripping off nine runs in the inning to take a 10-4 lead. They would hold on, winning game one 10-7.
Both teams touched the starting pitching early, both scoring runs in the opening frame. With the game tied 1-1, Plymouth starter Nora Galvin (junior; Windham, NH) was roughed up for three runs (one earned) in the fourth inning, an inning plagued by two Panther errors.
Down 4-1, the Panthers erupted for nine runs in the fifth inning. Jenn Bove (senior; Medford, MA) led off the inning with a single. Bekah Jackson (junior; Nashua, NH) followed with a bunt single, putting runners on first and second. Calli DeGrace (senior; Plymouth, NH) followed with a single, Bove scored on a West Conn error. Sam Hebert (junior; Manchester, NH) followed with a two-run single to tie the game at 4-4. A Vanessa Przybylo (freshman; Queensbury, NY) RBI groundout broke the tie and a Cynthia Barata (sophomore; New Fairfield, CT) RBI groundout added another run. The Panthers batted around when Bove got her second hit of the inning with a RBI single, and DeGrace got her second hit of the inning and drove in another two runs to extend the lead to 10-4.
Galvin held West Conn scoreless until Ali Keith (senior; Northfield, NH) came in for the top of the seventh. A three-run homerun cut the lead to 10-7, but Keith was able to work her way out of the inning to seal the 10-7 win in game one.
DeGrace led the way going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Hebert 2-for-4 for two RBIs. Bove went 2-for-3 with a RBI. Galvin got the start on the mound, going 6 innings with six strikeouts and one walk, while giving up four hits and four runs (one earned). Keith pitched one inning, giving up two hits and three runs (zero earned).
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Game 2: WCSU – 3 PSU – 1
A sixth-inning Western Connecticut single through the right side of the infield broke a 1-1 tie, and the Panthers couldn’t fight back, dropping the back half of their double-header 3-1.
Whitney Roberts got the start on the mound. After a scoreless first, West Conn got to her in the second inning. A RBI single to right field put Western Connecticut up 1-0.
Plymouth fought back in the third. DeGrace singled up the middle to score Jackson, tying the game 1-1.
The game remained scoreless until the top of the sixth. A two-out single started the rally. Then, a walk and a single loaded the bases. A single through the right side platted two runs to put West Conn up 3-1. Plymouth couldn’t put anything together in the bottom of the sixth or seventh, and they ended their Senior Day with a split.
DeGrace was 1-for-4 with a RBI and Jackie Digman (junior; Burlington, MA) was 3-for-4 on the game. Roberts had a solid start, going seven innings with two strikeouts and two walks, while giving up eight hits and three runs.
Plymouth starts the LEC tourney as the 2-seed. They play the 5-seed Rhode Island College at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 2nd in Mansfield, CT. Plymouth traveled to Rhode Island College earlier in the season and were swept in their double-header.