BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England Nor'easters pushed 25 runners across the plate on their way to a Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader sweep (16-3, 9-1) of Wentworth Institute of Technology on Saturday (April 20) afternoon at Claude Dubois Field.
The victory in the second game gave UNE head coach Dan Letellier his 100th career win for the Nor'easters (19-14-1, 10-6 CCC), who have won seven of their last nine.
It was fitting that the Nor'easters were led by their seniors on Senior Day, as Erin Grover (Biddeford, Maine) and Megan Gauger (South Paris, Maine) accounted for seven hits and nine runs batted in. Classmate Casey Brigham (New London, N.H.) contributed a pair of runs scored and drove in one.
Wentworth (6-25, 0-16) was paced offensively by sophomore Liz Glavin (Ipswich, Mass.), who totaled four hits and four RBI.
The Nor'easters rode a 17-hit attack to a five-inning victory in game one.
Gauger got the hosts on the scoreboard in the opening inning with a two-RBI double down the right-field line.
Big Blue exploded for 10 runs in the home half of the second to put the contest out of reach. UNE piled up eight hits and took advantage of four Wentworth errors in the frame. Gauger and sophomore Adrienne Chase (Holden, Mass.) each had two-run doubles, while junior Amanda Vaudreuil (Windham, N.H.) and first-year Abby Lambert (Brockton, Mass.) produced run-scoring two-baggers. Brigham knocked in a run with a single, and Vaudreuil added her second hit of the inning to plate another run.
The Leopards tallied all three of their runs in the top of the third on a two-out, bases-loaded double by Glavin.
UNE got all three of those runs back in its next at-bat. Grover had an RBI single to left and junior Jessica Potter (Crown Point, N.Y.) chased home two runs with a single up the middle.
Grover stroked an RBI single in the fourth to get the Nor'easters their last run of the tilt.
First-year Chelsea Damon (Scarborough, Maine) upped her record to 5-6, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out six over five innings. Rookie Kate Lee (Spruce Head, Maine) was charged with the loss for Wentworth.
In the second game, the Nor'easters capitalized on 11 walks and four Wentworth errors for a six-inning triumph.
The Leopards got on the scoreboard first when Glavin plated sophomore Devinn Doherty (Bridgewater, Mass.) with a single in the opening stanza.
UNE would respond in its first at-bat to even the score. Sophomore Gabrielle LaRoche (Deerfield, N.H.) had a groundout to score first-year Amanda Vallante (Dracut, Mass.).
The Nor'easters seized control with a pair of runs in both the second and third innings. UNE had two runners cross the plate in the second without registering a hit in the frame and scored twice in the next inning with just one hit.
Big Blue extended its lead to 6-1 in the fifth on a RBI triple by Grover, then ended the game with a three-run sixth. Vallante came home on a wild pitch for the first run and Grover singled to left-center to score a pair.
First-year Lauren Doneski (Waltham, Mass.) was solid in the circle for UNE. She improved to 7-4 on the strength of a four-hit, zero earned run performance. She fanned a career-high seven.
Sophomore Anna Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) took the setback for Wentworth, which concludes the regular season Monday with a home doubleheader versus Eastern Nazarene College (5 p.m.).
The Nor'easters will be looking for their seventh consecutive 20-win season tomorrow when they head to Nichols College for a noon doubleheader.
(Recap Courtesy of UNE Sports Information)
