April 3, 2012
Lyndon State Stings Softball, 6-0 and 6-2
Leicester, Mass. --- Becker dropped two games to Lyndon State, 6-0 and 6-2, on Tuesday evening in softball action at Russell Field. The Hornets of Lyndon State are now 8-10 while the Hawks of Becker fall to 4-14.
In game one, Melissa Rhodes (Mendon, Mass.) was solid on the mound for Becker, giving up just three earned runs in seven innings and striking out three. But Lyndon State capitalized on defensive miscues in the top of the third, leading to RBI singles by Jen Lynch (Portland, Maine), Taylor Young (Lowell, Mass.) and Katie Ste. Marie (North Troy, Vt.) and a sacrifice fly by Meghan Gadapee (Littleton, N.H.). Gadapee scattered five hits and struck out four on the mound in the shutout. Young, who went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs, scored from third on a wild pitch in the top of the second while Autumn Thompson (Troy, Vt.) also crossed home plate.
In game two, the Hawks got off to a promising start in game two, despite giving up an RBI single through the right side by Ashley Barski (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) in the top of the first. Becker answered in the bottom of the inning with Larissa Paula (Lynn, Mass.) scoring from third on a Lyndon State error. The highlight of the day for the Hawks came in the bottom of the third when Talan Barron (Methuen, Mass.) blasted the ball over the centerfield fence for her third home run of the year. The score remained 2-1 going into the top of the fifth, when the Hornets again took advantage of errors by the Hawks, posting five runs in the frame. Dannika Dobrowski (Plainfield, Vt.), Jena Finnegan (Keeseville, N.Y.) and Barski all scored on errors after bunt singles, while Young smashed an RBI-double to centerfield and Jillian Emery (Morrisville, Vt.) capped off the rally with an RBI single to score Young. Becker attempted to respond in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases with no outs. But a double-play resulted in outs at home and first and the Hawks struck out to end the inning.
After a rough start to the game, Lyndon State's Katie Davis (North Haverhill, N.H.) settled down to strike out five Hawks with only one earned run allowed while Megan Cordon (Watertown, Conn.) struck out six Hornets in seven innings for Becker.
Up next for Becker, the Hawks will host the Engineers of WPI on Wednesday, April 4th in a double-header with the first game coming at 3:00pm. Lyndon State travels to New England College to face the Pilgrims, also on Wednesday.
