Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
TUCSON, Ariz. – Graduate righty Alyssa Vilchez (Brampton, ON) spun a complete-game five-hitter for her 19^th career pitching victory and junior Ally Gruca (Lancaster, MA) ignited the winning rally after there were two out and none on in the top of the seventh inning with a pinch single as the Eastern Connecticut State University softball team trimmed Franklin & Marshall College, 2-1, Wednesday at Lincoln Park.

Vilchez (2-2) had three hits and scored the first run of the game in the fourth. With the score tied at 1-all and two out in the seventh, Gruca's first hit of the season – an infield pinch single that eluded the dive of F&M (4-5) third baseman Madison Martin – began the winning rally. Gruca then stole second and after a walk, sophomore shortstop Emma Marelli (Waterford) bounced a single past third base that chased home pinch runner Julia Boya (Coventry).

In Eastern's (3-3) first game of the day, Whittier College (8-5) batted around in the fourth, scoring six runs (four unearned) on five hits and an infield error to expand a three-run lead and post a 10-1, five-inning victory.

Thursday at Tucson, Eastern faces Sul Ross State University at noon ET and UW-Lacrosse at 2 p.m. ET.

Eastern 2, Franklin & Marshall 1

The Warriors stranded runners in scoring position in that seventh inning that would have added pad runs, but Vilchez escaped in the seventh to strand the tying and winning runs in scoring position. A leadoff single and walk put runners ahead with one out, and after No. 9 hitter Claire Sullivan moved her teammates into scoring position, Vilchez clinched the win when she got leadoff hitter Natalia Garza on a comebaker (the fourth induced by Vilchez in the game) on a 2-0 pitch.

Vilchez struck out five and walked three, with only two of 21 outs reaching the outfield. The Warriors played perfect defense, with Vilchez (6), Marelli (2), and sophomore catcher Maddy Bowen (Hudson, NH) all contributing more than one assist.

With Eastern leading 1-0, Bowen threw out her first baserunner of the season when she ended the fifth inning with a strike to graduate third baseman Julia SanGiovanni (East Haven) that caught Sophia Noriega attempting to steal.

With Vilchez facing only one over the minimum through the first three innings, the Warriors scored the first run of the game in the fourth. SanGiovanni was hit by a pitch for the 75^th time in her career (five shy of the NCAA career record) and Vilchez had an opposite-field single to left to put the first two runners aboard against complete-game loser Ainsley McClure (2-2). With one out and Vilchez on third, Bowen was credited with her first RBI of the year when shortstop Alexa Klepper  could not cleanly field her ground ball while Vilchez was heading home.

Vilchez lost her shutout in the bottom of the sixth when the Diplomats tied the game on Klepper's two-out, opposite-field single down the right field line that plated Garza, who had opened the inning with a bunt single and moved to second on Jaden Spigner's infield single to third.

Whittier College 10, Eastern 1 (5 inn.)

Whittier junior righty Kiley Kraft limited Eastern to six hits (one hit by six different players) over four innings, and the top three hitters in the Poets' lineup reached eight times with five hits and three walks, drove in five runs and scored two.

Eastern scored first on SanGiovanni's sacrifice fly that sent home senior outfielder Sarah Remillard (Grafton, MA), who had doubled with one out and moved up on Vilchez' single to center.

Vilchez team batting leader thus far

In six games this year, Vilchez (.625) is one of four players batting better than .300, and is followed by junior first baseman Maggie Rubeck (Easthampton, MA), junior centerfielder Maggie Baker (Hudson, MA) and Marelli. Rubeck is batting .400, Baker .375 and Marelli .316.

Having committed only three errors and having turned seven double plays (twice turning three), Marelli has 12 putouts and 12 assists and Vilchez 11 assists without an error.
With Vilchez (2-2, 4.38 ERA) having split four decisions in 24 2/3 innings, junior lefty Alexa Boone (Middletown) is 1-1 with a save and 3.18 ERA in 11 1/3 innings, and senior righty Emma Sands (Danbury) has thrown one hitless inning.