NEWPORT, R.I. – UMass. – Boston used a pair of late inning rallies to sweep the Sunday afternoon doubleheader against Salve Regina softball, Sunday afternoon. The Beacons took the first game 9-2 before defeating the Seahawks 4-2 in the nightcap. 

The Seahawks (5-7) held a 2-0 advantage going into the top of the seventh behind a single from sophomore Lauren Nicholson (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) to score junior Jennifer Edine (Warwick, R.I.) in the second and double from senior Jillian Quintana (Denver, Colo.) scored junior Marissa Simpson (Brimfield, Mass.) in the third.  Senior Jen Cruver (North Haven, Conn.) was cruising along, not allowing a hit until the fifth inning before the seventh. 

The Beacons came out swinging in the final frame, sending 14 batters to the plate, scoring nine of them to defeat the Seahawks, 9-2. With the bases loaded a run across off an RBI single from sophomore Kelly Svenson (Oxford, Conn.), the Seahawks were able to record their first out, getting sophomore Kristina Bove (Medford, Mass.) to ground into a fielder's choice.

After back-to-back singles from senior Kelsey Souza (Braintree, Mass.) and senior Taryn Asta  (Marshfield, Mass.) gave the lead to the Beacons, 4-2, Salve Regina got its second out of the inning, despite a run coming home to push the Beacon lead to 5-2. UMB strung together four more hits to push its lead to 9-2 before Cruver was able to get Bove to fly out to left in her second at bat of the inning and end the frame.

Simpson led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to left and was moved to third on a ground out by Quintana, but the Seahawks were unable to get the rally going and dropped the first game of the doubleheader. 

Salve Regina jumped out to an early lead in the nightcap, taking a 1-0 lead after the first inning. Senior Ali Muehlbronner (Glenside, Pa.) reached base on a fielding error by the third baseman and was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt for Simpson. The outfielder collected her first RBI of the day with her second double in as many games to score Muehlbronner. 

Cruver pitched a perfect second and left two stranded in the third before the Beacons tied the game in the top of the fourth. Junior Natalia Bouyea (East Longmeadow, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly to right to score sophomore Samantha Hemstock (Northford, Conn.) and tie the game at 1-1. 

Salve Regina regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth on three hits. Nelson and senior Megan Jakiela (Meridan, Conn.) led off the frame with back-to-back singles before Cruver sacrificed them over to second and third. Muehlbronner reached on an infield single to deep shortstop to score Nelson to give Salve Regina 3-2 lead. 

The lone run in the fifth would be the final one for Salve Regina as the Beacons scored twice in the sixth off a pair of RBI singles from junior Lyndsey Capra (Lowell, Mass.) Svenson to retake the lead, 3-2. UMB scored its final run of the ballgame in the top of the seventh off an RBI double from Bouyea to score Hemstock. 

Cruver took the loss for the Seahawks in both games, giving up 13 runs, all earned while striking out four on the day. Freshman Emily Gray (New Bedford, Mass.) earned the win for the Beacons in the first game going a full seven, giving up two runs, both earnd on eight hits and two walks with no strikeouts. Sophomore Michelle Zullo (Everett, Mass.) earned the win in the second game, giving up two runs, one earned on six hits over seven innings. Zullo recorded three strike outs on the day while not issuing a walk. 

Nicholson paced the Seahawks at the plate, going 4-for-6 (.667).

Salve Regina returns to action when the Seahawks host Eastern Nazarene tomorrow at Toppa Field for both teams Commonwealth Coast Conference opener. The doubleheader is set to begin at 4 p.m.