CAMBRIDGE, MA – Lesley University (6-4) scored a pair of wins over Framingham State (2-12) in non-conference softball action, coming from behind to beat the Rams in dramatic fashion, 8-7, in the opener before besting the Rams 6-0 in the nightcap on a blistery afternoon at Buckingham Field.
Ashley Cunningham (Mountain Top, PA/Crestwood) blasted a three-run homer to get the Lynx on the board in Game 1, which Molly Sarson (Sanford, ME/Sanford) ended by lining a bases loaded, walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh.
After scoring four straight without making an out in the last inning of Game 1, Sarson, Cunningham and the Lynx kept on hitting, as Lesley put runs on the board in every inning of a Game 2 6-0 win in an abbreviated five-inning contest.
A leadoff walk and wild pitch cost Lynx starter Cassandra Knox (Sea Cliff, NY/North Shore) in the first inning of the opener, as Kim Danish (Milford, MA/Milford) scored from third on a Christy Ulak (Rehoboth, MA/Dighton-Rehoboth) infield single to put the Rams up 1-0.
Two Lynx errors on an Alyssa Shea (Lakeville, MA/Apponequet) single allowed two runs to score in the Rams three-run second, but Lesley got three back on Cunningham's blast an inning later. Her shot to left scored Jessica Guevara (Nantucket, MA/Nantucket) and Alyson Durben (Stow, MA/Nashoba). Sarson followed Cunningham's shot with a walk, and pinch-runner Rian Powers stole second and scored when the throw to second sailed into centerfield, tying the game 4-4 after three.
The comeback wouldn't last, as the Rams answered with three of their own in the fourth. Danish and Kendra Fisher (Abington, MA/Abington) knocked back-to-back RBI singles, with Kasey Phipps (Westford, MA/Westford) scoring on an error on Fisher's single, putting Framingham ahead 7-4.
The Rams lead held until the seventh. Maria Nazzaro (North Reading, MA/St. Mary's) drew the dreaded leadoff walk, and Emily Mangiaratti (Amherst, MA/Amherst) followed with a single. Jennifer Dorval's (Franklin, NH/Franklin) pinch-hit single scored Nazzaro, leaving two runners on for No. 3 hitter Gabrielle Brixey (Coalinga, CA/West Hills CC).
The Lynx left fielder dropped a bunt down the third base line, and Kelly Reardon fielded and sent the throw all the way up the right field line. Mangiaratti scored from second and, running for Dorval, Guevara came around to score all the way from first, tying the game 7-7 with still no outs and Brixey representing the winning run 60 feet away.
A pair of intentional walks loaded the bags for Sarson, whose lined single to center plated Brixey to complete the comeback and make a winner out of Knox. The Lynx starter allowed 11 hits that led to seven runs, only one of which was earned thanks to five Lynx errors.
Adriana Faria (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxborough) took the loss, surrendering seven hits and eight runs, only four earned, and striking out a season-high 10.
Sarson went 2-for-2 with a walk and the game-winning RBI, Guevara scored twice and Cunningham drove in three as the Lynx stood on the right side of .500 for the first time all season.
For the Rams, Ulak went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Shea went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Sarson singled home Mangiaratti to put the Lynx out to an early 1-0 advantage in Game 2. Nazzaro then ignited a three-run second with a two-run triple to the gap in right, and Cunningham made it 4-0 an inning later with an RBI double to the wall in left.
The Lynx made it five straight innings on the day with at least one run in the fourth, when Sarson again drove in Mangiaratti from third to make it a 6-0 game, which was easily enough insurance for Dorval.
The freshman right-hander retired the first 11 Rams before allowing a base runner and took a no-hitter into the fifth before allowing what would be Framingham's only hit, a double to Kate Corriveault (Blackstone, MA/Blackstone-Millville). Dorval pitched out of a two-on, no-out, fifth inning jam, earning her second shutout of the season in a nine-strikeout, one-hit, wintery gem, as the game was called due to snowfall after five.
Mangiaratti went 2-for-3 with two steals and two runs scored, and Sarson went 2-for-3 with two driven in as the Lynx improved to 6-4.
Lesley returns to action with a New England Collegiate Conference doubleheader at Southern Vermont on Saturday, when Framingham State plays two at Bridgewater State.