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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – First-year righty
Elizabeth Mitchell (Coventry) won both ends of a Little East Conference doubleheader for the third time in 16 days and senior second baseman and leadoff hitter
Maddi Sauve (Mansfield) drove in four runs in the nightcap (five on the day) as the Eastern Connecticut State University softball team swept Rhode Island College, 4-1, 9-3 Tuesday afternoon at Dayna A. Bazar Stadium.
With its fifth and sixth straight (LEC) wins, Eastern (17-15, 11-3 LEC) extends its winning streak against Rhode Island (17-18-1, 3-10-1) to 12 and climbs over the .500 mark for the first time this season.
The Warriors look to clinch at least a share of their 11
th LEC regular-season title in the last 17 years when it hosts LEC pre-season favorite University of Massachusetts Boston (27-8-1, 8-5-1 LEC) in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Clyde Washburne Field in the regular-season finale for both teams.
A sweep of the Beacons Saturday provides Eastern with its eighth outright LEC regular-season title in the last 17 years. Unofficially, a sweep by UMass Boston Saturday would still leave the Beacons shy of first place. A sweep of its final four LEC regular-season games by University of Southern Maine (18-16, 8-4 LEC), however, coupled with an Eastern split Saturday would leave the Warriors and Huskies sharing the regular-season title but would give USM the No. 1 tournament seed and tournament hosting rights on the strength of its sweep (both games coming by 2-1 scores) of Eastern April 4 at Hannaford Field.
Against Rhode Island, Mitchell (13-6) – named LEC Rookie and Pitcher-of-the-Week the last two weeks -- improved her record to 12-1 in her last 13 decisions, allowing four earned runs on 14 hits (five for extra bases) with four strikeouts and two walks. Mitchell carried a three-hit shutout into the bottom of the seventh of the first game before RIC spoiled her bid at a third shutout this year on a sacrifice fly. Mitchell's third home run of the season leading off the fourth helped the Warriors to a 3-0 lead.
In the nightcap, the Warriors used a pair of three-run innings to overcome a 1-0 first-inning deficit. The Warriors bunched three hits and two walks for a 3-1 lead in the third, and leading 4-2, added three more in the fifth on first-year third baseman
Sam Healy's (Cranston, RI) team-leading fifth home run of the year.
In the second game, Sauve drove in the first run and scored the second run in the three-run third, drove in a run in the fourth with a suicide squeeze bunt and drove in both runs of the seventh with a two-out infield single.
Eastern visits Western New England at Golden Bear Softball Park in a non-conference doubleheader Thursday at 3 p.m. before hosting UMass Boston Saturday on Senior Day.
