Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
MANSFIELD, Conn. – Sophomore Elizabeth Mitchell (Coventry) pitched a complete-game seven-hitter in the opener and came back to save the second game, and senior Maddy Bowen (Hudson, NH) hit a two-run home run in the first game and drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the bottom of the sixth inning of the nightcap as the Eastern Connecticut State University softball team opened its Little East Conference season with 3-2, 5-4 victories over the University of Southern Maine Sunday afternoon at Clyde Washburne Field.
 
In the LEC openers for both teams, Eastern (9-5, 2-0 LEC) never trailed in the first game but had to erase a 4-1 Southern Maine (8-5, 0-2 LEC) lead in the nightcap by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth, the tying run in the fifth and what proved to be the winning run in the sixth.
 
The Warriors visit Nichols College (currently 7-9) in a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday before hosting Western Connecticut State University Saturday in an LEC twinbill at 1 p.m. on Senior Day. Ranked sixth in the LEC pre-season poll, WestConn (currently 2-9 overall / 0-1 LEC) will be playing its third doubleheader in as many days when it meets Eastern.
 
Game 1
Eastern Conn. 3, U. of Southern Maine 2
 
Bowen played a part in all three Eastern runs when she blasted a two-run home run – the first of her career – to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead in the third and then singled leading off the sixth and her pinch runner, Ashlyn Kenefick (Southington), scored the tie-breaking run.
 
Mitchell outdueled USM sophomore Mia Coots to win her fifth game against two losses this year. Mitchell pitched a complete-game seven hitter with nine strikeouts, stranding at least one runner in six of seven innings for a total of seven.
 
Coots, who struck out eight in recording a complete-game three-hit 2-1 win over the Warriors a year ago in the Huskies doubleheader sweep over Eastern last year at Gorham, ME, limited Eastern to five hits.
 
The Warriors – picked to finish first in the LEC pre-season coaches' poll -- pushed across the go-ahead run to break a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the sixth. Bowen opened the inning with an infield single to second on a 3-2 pitch, pinch runner Ashlyn Kenfick moved up on first-year DP Jenna Maus' (Woodbridge) sacrifice bunt and scored easily when junior shortstop Grace Jenkins' (Groton) medium-deep fly ball to left fell untouched.
 
In Eastern's two-run third inning, Couts retired the first two batters in a scoreless game before junior leftfielder Kaley Laird (Bristol) singled to the opposite field on a 1-2 pitch, and Bowen, batting third, unloaded a two-run home run to left on the first pitch offered by Couts.
 
Southern Maine, which shared fourth place in the LEC pre-season poll, tied the game in the sixth, With one out, Brianna Grenier singled through the left side on a two-strike pitch, and Ella Bezanson following with an RBI triple to left to cut the Warriors' lead in half.  Kristina Yebba's sacrifice fly on a hard drive to junior Julia Boya (Coventry) in center chased in Bezanson with the tying run.
 
Mitchell struck out two batters three times. With Eastern leading 2-0 in the top of the fourth, Mitchell fanned two in a row between cleanup hitter Mackenzie Renner's leadoff opposite-field single to right and Kristina Yebba's solid single to center. After throwing three straight balls, Mitchell got Alana DeLisle on a full count fall ball to centerfielder Boya, who settled under it in the infield.
 
After the Warriors scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh, Mitchell secured her 21^st career win by inducing ground balls from sophomore third baseman Sam Healy (Cranston, RI) and senior second baseman Lily Kenefick (Southington) that left the tying run on second. Mitchell threw four strikes to those final two batters, getting No. 3 hitter Olivia Levasseur on a first-pitch grounder to Kenefick to end the game.
 
Game 2
Eastern Conn. 5, U. of Southern Maine 4
 
Down 4-1, Eastern got two back in the fourth on Boya's bases-loaded sacrifice fly to left and Mitchell's two-out RBI single, tied it in the fifth when senior catcher Abby Thompson (Westborough, MA) tripled and scored on Healy's sacrifice fly to right and – after leaving the bases loaded in that inning -- won it in the sixth on Bowen's first-pitch, two-out RBI single to right center that sent home sophomore pinch runner Jordan Bennett (Plainville, MA). Replacing Mitchell (inning-opening walk) at first, Bennett had moved to second on Laird's sacrifice bunt to set up Bowen's game-winner.
 
Mitchell nailed down the win for first-year righty Leah Chatfield (Naugatuck) by pitching a 1-2-3 seventh inning. Mitchell needed only eight pitches – seven of them strikes  -- to record her first save of the year, fourth of her career. In the seventh, Mitchell got Avery Moore on strikes, retired Emily Wheeler on a comebacker, and got Olivia Levasseur on a game-ending line drive to Jenkins at short.
 
Chatfield (3-1) gave up six hits while fanning three and walking three and stranded eight runners to gain her first win since the second day of the season. In relief, Coots (5-4) sustained her second loss of the afternoon. Coots had replaced junior starter Camdyn Johnson with the bases loaded in the fifth and got an infield popup on her second pitch to keep the game deadlocked at 4-4.
 
Mitchell had two of Eastern's seven hits and was the only Eastern player with more than one hit, run scored or RBI.