McCarthy, Laudati Lead Softball to Doubleheader Sweep of Lasell

NEWTON, Mass. -- Sophomore Kelly McCarthy (Burlington, Mass.) and senior Jessica Laudati (Berkley, Mass.) led the visiting Bridgewater State University softball team to a doubleheader sweep of non-conference foe Lasell College on Tuesday afternoon at Taylor Field. The Bears posted an 11-0, five-inning win in the opener and completed the sweep with a 13-9 victory in game two.

Bridgewater State climbs to 11-5 with the pair of wins, while the host Lasers slip to 5-15.

On the afternoon, McCarthy earned both wins in the circle, belted her first home run of the season and drove in six runs while scoring three.

Laudati was 5-for-8 at the plate in the twinbill with two home runs, two doubles, eight runs batted in and three runs scored.

Game One: Bridgewater State 11, Lasell 0

In the opener, McCarthy hurled a complete game, two-hit shutout. She walked just one and fanned five.

At the plate, McCarthy got the Bears off and running in the top of the first inning as she belted a three-run homer over the left field fence.

BSU tacked on four runs in the third on a pair of two-run doubles off the bats of Laudati and sophomore Tara McCann (Fall River, Mass.).

The Bears secured the victory in the top of the fifth, scoring four runs on four hits. Sophomore Breanna Shaffer (Plainville, Mass.) knocked in the first run of the frame with a bases loaded single. A wild pitch brought in the second run, and senior Jocelyn Bettencourt (Plymouth, Mass.) followed with an RBI single. Shaffer capped off the scoring with a steal of home.

Bettencourt, McCann and sophomores Courtney Leddy (Saugus, Mass.) and Samantha LoPilato (Medford, Mass.) each finished with two hits apiece to pace the Bears' 12-hit attack. Bettencourt reached safely four times as she went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, two runs scored and an RBI. McCann finished 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI, while Leddy singled twice, walked and scored two runs in three plate appearances. LoPilato went 2-for 3 at the dish with a pair of runs scored.

Junior Nicole LeBlanc (Easton, Mass.) and freshman Ashley Gatchell (Franklin, Mass.) chipped in with the only hits of the game for the Lasers.

Freshman Magdalen Trainor (Worcester, Mass.) took the loss for the Lasers and dropped her record to 0-2 on the year. Trainor allowed seven runs on seven hits and two walks in three innings of work.

Game Two: Bridgewater State 13, Lasell 9

McCarthy picked up the win in relief of sophomore starter Kathleen Bailey (Bayport, N.Y.) in the nightcap.  McCarthy (3-2) worked six innings giving up three runs (two earned) on 13 hits. She walked two and fanned six.

Laudati paced the BSU offense in game two as she went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double, six RBI and two runs scored. McCann went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, while McCarthy knocked in three runs and scored two. Sophomore Cassidy Morrow (Dighton, Mass.) singled, walked four times and scored four runs in five plate appearances.

The Lasers bounced back from their hitting struggles in game one to crank out 18 hits in the nightcap, highlighted by junior Erin Larghi (Wakefield, R.I.), who went 3-for-4, with a double, a triple, and one RBI. Sophomore Emily Noll (Weymouth, Mass.) rapped four hits in five at bats with a double and an RBI, while LeBlanc went 3-for-5 to go along with two runs and a pair of RBI.

The Bears once again jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning highlighted by Laudati's two-run blast to left field. The Lasers responded by scoring seven runs over the first two innings to take a 7-3 lead.

Junior Emily DeAngelis (Shelton, Conn.) doubled in a run and scored on a wild pitch in the first, while a Larghi RBI triple and RBI singles by LeBlanc and junior Samantha Boute (Plymouth, Mass.) helped the Lasers plate four runs in the second.

A McCarthy RBI single followed by another two-run homer by Laudati pulled the visitors to within a run (7-6) in the top of the third. Laudati's RBI single capped off a two-run fourth inning to put the Bears back on top to stay.

BSU plated four more runs in the fifth as McCann homered to lead off the inning and Laudati plated McCarthy with an RBI double. Bettencourt and Morrow also scored in the frame on a wild pitch.

Leddy doubled to lead off the seventh, advance to third on a wild pitch and came home on McCarthy's sacrifice fly to cap off the Bears' scoring.

In the bottom of the seventh, an RBI single by LeBlanc and an RBI double by Noll accounted for the final score of 13-9.

Trainor gave up six runs (four earned) on six hits and a walk in three innings, while freshman Andrea Kane (Burlington, Mass.) pitched the final four innings in relief. Kane (0-1) was saddled with the loss giving up seven runs (four earned) on six hits and six walks.

Both teams jump into conference action on Wednesday afternoon. The Lasers welcome The University of Saint Joseph for a GNAC twin bill with first pitch slated for 3:00 p.m., while the Bears host Westfield State University for a MASCAC doubleheader starting at 2:00 p.m.