DUDLEY, Mass. – Junior Haley Fountain (Warren, Mass.) picked up a pair of wins and also belted a walk-off three run home run as the Nichols College softball team swept its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) doubleheader from Wentworth Saturday afternoon at the Nichols Softball Field.

Fountain tossed a two-hitter in the opener, which the Bison won 10-2 in five innings, then came on in relief in game two and surrendered one run in six innings before lifting her team to a 9-8 win in eight innings with home run over the left field wall. The wins keep Nichols' playoff hopes alive as it climbs to 8-16 overall and 4-8 in conference play.

Sophomore Jade Palladino (Lynnfield, Mass.) went 2-for-3 with four RBI in the opener for the Bison while freshman Courtney Manarky (Amston, Conn.) went 3-for-3 and scored twice. Classmate Kendall Meehan (Danvers, Mass.) was 2-2 for in game one and also crossed home plate twice.

Senior Liz Glavin (Ipswich, Mass.) was 4-for-5 in game two with two RBI for WIT while freshman Vanessa Weymouth (Fremont, N.H.) went 3-for-4 with one RBI. Senior Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) – who suffered the loss in game two – finished the second contest 3-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored.

Nichols led 2-1 entering the third inning game one before a two-run double from Palladino and a two run home run off the bat of sophomore Meghan Sears (Tewksbury, Mass.) over the right field wall made it 7-1. A two-run single by Palladino in the fourth sparked a three-run rally and pushed the Bison lead to 9-1. Senior Anne Harris (Germantown, Md.) got one back for the Leopards with an RBI single in the top of the fifth, but Manarky's RBI bunt single in the bottom of the frame plated sophomore Samantha DiReda (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and ended the game.

Fountain walked one and fanned five to earn her fifth win of the season. Junior Siobhan Baker (South Portland, Maine) was tagged for 11 hits and 10 runs (eight earned) in 4.1 innings to fall to 1-6.

The Leopards came out swinging the bats in game two and jumped out to a 3-0 lead as Glavin and Weymouth each recorded an RBI single. Glavin's RBI double in the second made it 4-0 Wentworth, but the Bison rallied back for three in their half of the frame to get to within one. Sears drew a bases-loaded walk before freshman Brianna Kilborn (North Brookfield, Mass.) plated two with a single to center.

Wentworth picked up a pair of unearned runs in the fourth to extend its lead to 6-3. In the bottom half of the frame, an RBI double from Manarky and a pair of unearned runs evened the game at six. The game remained scoreless until the eighth when Curran's RBI double led to a pair of Wentworth runs and an 8-6 lead.

With Barrows on second to open the Nichols half of the eighth, Meehan drew a two-out walk, which set the stage for Fountain's heroics. She relieved Meehan in the third and gave up nine hits and four runs (one earned) with one walk and three K's to move to 6-9. Curran, meanwhile, allowed three hits and three runs (two earned) in 4.1 IP in defeat.

Nichols plays at Roger Williams tomorrow beginning at noon. The Leopards (4-22, 0-16 CCC) close their season with a pair of home games against Western New England Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.