MANSFIELD, Conn. – On Senor Day, senior Carley Stoker (Sandy Creek, NY) allowed one earned run in 12 1/3 innings to pick up wins as a starter and reliever and the Eastern Connecticut State University softball team extended its winning streak to 12 with 10-2, 6-4 Little East Conference wins over the University of Massachusetts Boston Saturday afternoon at Clyde Washburne Field. The first game was stopped after six innings due to the mercy rule.

Now 8-0 at home this year, Eastern (20-8, 10-0 LEC) swept its fifth straight conference doubleheader while UMass Boston (18-13, 4-8 LEC) was swept for the second straight conference doubleheader after either splitting or winning both ends of its first five LEC twinbills.

Stoker (11-1) pitched a complete-game six-inning four hitter and allowed only one earned run in the first game and Eastern scored four runs in the first inning and four in the second game in an 11-hit attack against two UMass pitchers.

In the second game, Stoker was summoned in relief with two out in the top of the first inning after the Beacons scored four runs on three hits and two Eastern errors, and shut out UMass on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts over the final 6 1/3 innings to record her seventh straight pitching victory. On the day, Stoker allowed two runs on nine hits, four walks and a hit batsman, striking out ten.

Stoker threw 210 pitches on the afternoon, 65 percent of them (137) for strikes.

While Eastern managed 19 hits (six doubles) on the afternoon, nine UMass errors, three wild pitches and two passed balls helped Eastern score nine unearned runs.

UMass, 3-9 in its last 12 games, rode Amauri English's three-run homer to its four-run first inning in the second game, but Eastern tied the game by the third inning and scored the go-ahead runs in the sixth. In the sixth, junior Sarah Remillard (Grafton, MA) drove in the go-ahead run with a suicide squeeze, and senior Alyssa Vilchez (Brampton, ON) made it 6-4 and chased UMass starter Bri Melchionda (10-3) with a sacrifice fly.

Eastern scored seven unearned runs in the first game when the Beacons committed four errors, three coming in the Warriors' four-run fifth inning. In the doubleheader, sophomore first baseman Alexa Boone (Middletown) reached base six times, drove in five runs (she entered the day with two RBI on the season) and scored two. Four of her RBI came in the first game on a third-inning infield single, and doubles in the fifth and sixth innings. First-year shortstop Emma Marelli (Waterford) and senior leftfielder Taylor Darby (South Windsor) each had three hits on the afternoon, with Darby scoring four runs, driving in one and stealing three bases and Marelli scoring twice, driving in two runs and stealing two bases.

Freshman third baseman Lauren Miner had four of UMass Boston's 12 hits on the day with a double and long leadoff home run in the second inning of the first game.

Five outgoing Eastern players were honored after the game: Darby, Vilchez, Stoker, Julia SanGiovanni (East Haven), and Grace Leone (Brick, NJ).
Eastern visits Rhode Island College Tuesday at 4 p.m. in a conference doubleheader.