Despite being unlucky earlier this season with frigid temperatures, Springfield College softball was finally rewarded for its five game win streak with beautiful weather on Potter Field. The Pride took advantage of it, stringing together 14 shutout innings and defeating crosstown rival Western New England 5-0 in game one and 2-0 in the second game.
Game one started off with Amelia DeRosa on the mound for the Pride. DeRosa started off her first two frames holding the Golden Bears to just one hit.
The scoring for Springfield began in the bottom of the second inning, when Michaela Ponticello took a four pitch, bases loaded walk to put the home team up 1-0 early. Two batters later, Marissa Seyfert smacked a low pitch into right center field to drive in two more runs, furthering Springfield’s advantage to 3-0.
DeRosa, who sports a 3.50 ERA in 2025, continued her dominant stretch in the third inning. After a hit and two walks loaded the bases for the Golden Bears, with two outs DeRosa induced a sky-high popout to freshman shortstop Katie Manzone to get out of the jam.
Callie Gendron and Lucy Puskas singled to load the bases for the Pride, and Pecchia’s creative base-running allowed her to score on a passed ball. The Pride scored their fifth and final run of the afternoon when Manzone’s middle infield counterpart Brynlee Eckles plated Seyfert with a hard ground ball off the shortstop’s glove. DeRosa ended up allowing no runs in a complete game.
“The team is coming together more. We are starting to click when we need to,” said head coach Sam Garcia.
Abby Robinson earned her first start in over three weeks during the second game of the doubleheader — and she performed brilliantly. Robinson allowed just four hits on the afternoon and totaled four strikeouts.
“They told me yesterday that I was getting it [the start]. I just had to prepare myself today, and I did what I needed to do,” Robinson said.
Springfield scored early once again, when freshman Haley Ball scored in the bottom of the first by way of Gendron’s groundout to second base. After this, the game went silent. Robinson continued to shut down Western New England’s hitters.
Springfield added an insurance run in the sixth, as two pinch runners on the basepaths, Lucy Puskas drove in Springfield’s second run of the evening game to add some insurance for the Pride. Two highlight catches in center field from Seyfert sealed the win for Springfield, extending its streak to seven games and its record to 21-9 on the season.
“At practice, we focus on really good fielding and supporting each other,” Seyfert said. “We all did a great job supporting Abby on the field.”
The Pride play next in an afternoon matchup, Friday, at Potter Field, against Wheaton.
Photo Courtesy of Springfield Athletics