Softball Drops Close Games to UMass Dartmouth, Castleton

FT. MYERS, Fla. – After capturing victories in five of its first six games of the season, the Suffolk softball team dropped a pair of closes contests in Day 4 of its stay at the Gene Cusic Classic. The Rams fell to UMass Dartmouth, 5-4, in eight innings in the first game of the day, and was outlasted by Castleton, 6-5, in the afternoon contest. 

In game 1, UMass Dartmouth (10-1) struck first, plating a run in the bottom of the first. It took three innings for Suffolk to respond. Jill Pulek led off the fourth with a double to left center and Devlin Frost followed with a base hit up the middle. Morgan Parmeter flied out to center field to bring in Pulek and tie things up, 1-1. The Corsairs quickly regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of the inning and Suffolk played from behind yet again. 

Delaney Sylvester drove in another Rams' run in the fifth to help cut the deficit. The sophomore hit a double up the middle to bring in Karina Miranda and pull Suffolk within 1, 3-2. For the second time in the contest, Parmeter's bat tied up the game with the sophomore driving in the tying run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly to right fight. 

Suffolk's defense handled business the rest of the way, but the Rams' offense did not attack again as the blue-and-gold's fate would be determined in extra innings for the first time this season. 

In the extra stanza, Parmeter brought in her second score of the day with a one-out double to right center giving the Rams a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the inning. A single gave the Corsairs runners on first and third and a base hit allowed UMass to knot the score at 4-4. Suffolk got a runner out on second on the next at bat, but one final UMass hit, a double to Emily Colton gave the Corsairs a 5-4 win in extra innings. 

Kim Crucioli took the loss for Suffolk, surrounding five hits and striking out two in 3.1 innings of work. Frost and Parmeter finished with a pair of hits for Suffolk in the loss with Parmeter plating three runs. 

Similar to the first contest, Suffolk fell in hole early as Castleton (1-1) built an early lead, plating a run in the first inning. Parmeter provided the rebuttal for the Rams, launching a two RBI double through the left side with one out in the third inning. 

Frost punched a RBI double of her own in the fourth to give Suffolk its first lead of the day. The advantaged was short lived, however, as Castleton knocked in two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to put the visitors up, 4-3. In the bottom of the inning, Frost reached on a single and scored on a Pulek double to right field. Tied at 4-all, Parmeter's bat stayed hot through the second contest and hit a single through the left side to keep Suffolk's momentum going. On a passed ball Pulek and Parmeter advanced bases and Madison Eucalitto's sac fly brought in the freshman to put the Rams out in front, 5-4. 

Castleton took advantaged of seventh inning errors for two runs and the Rams could not complete a comeback in the final inning as it fell, 6-5. 

Ali Yamakaitis absorbed the loss in the circle for Suffolk, allowing two runs and walking one in the final innning. Frost finished the day 3-for-4 from the plate with two runs scored and a RBI with Parmeter hitting 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and Eucalitto brining in the final run for Suffolk.

The Rams conclude the Gene Cusic Classic tomorrow with early morning contests against Minnesota Morris (9 a.m.) and Knox (11 a.m.).