DUDLEY, Mass. – Sophomore Courtney Manarky (Amston, Conn.) went 3-for-4 with two RBI – including a walk-off single in the ninth – to help the Nichols College softball team earn a split of its doubleheader with Roger Williams University Saturday afternoon at the Nichols Softball Field.
 
Game One: Nichols 9, Roger Williams 8 (9 inn.)
Manarky had her best game at the plate this season, which she capped with a walk-off single to left with the bases loaded and two down in the ninth. Classmate Kendall Meehan (Danvers, Mass.) belted a two-run home run in the third – her fourth of the season – while sophomore Kasey Ayer (Niantic, Conn.) also plated a pair.
 
Sophomore Haley Ledbetter (Westerly, R.I.) went 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored for the Hawks, who also received three hits from junior Alicia McCauley (North Reading, Mass.).
 
Nichols rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take a 5-3 lead into the sixth before a two-out, three-run home run off the bat of Ledbetter put the Hawks in front 6-5. The Hawks carried a 7-5 lead to the seventh, but a two-run single by Ayer tied the game and forced extra innings.
 
Roger Williams grabbed an 8-7 lead on an RBI single from McCauley with two outs in the ninth. In the bottom of the frame, freshman Zoe Chevrette (Wilbraham, Mass.) singled up the middle to plate Ayer and tie the game before Manarky's hit brought home Chevrette with the winning run.
 
Senior Haley Fountain (Warren, Mass.) picked up the win to even her record at 2-2 on the season. In nine innings of work, she allowed 12 hits and eight runs (seven earned) with four walks and four strikeouts. Sophomore Mary Adametz (Higganum, Conn.) was tagged for six hits and five runs in 4.2 IP in defat. She walked three and fanned four.
 
Game Two: Roger Williams 4, Nichols 2  
Senior Meghan Maliga (Suffield, Conn.) and junior Mikaela Grosso (West Warwick, R.I.) each went 3-for-4 with two RBI for the Hawks while Maliga tossed four innings of one-run ball to earn her fifth win.
 
Chevrette drove in her second run of the afternoon with a single in the sixth while junior starting pitcher Meghan Sears (Tewksbury, Mass.) laced an RBI double to account for the other Bison run. Sears allowed 12 hits and four runs over seven with two strikeouts.
 
All-Time Series
Today's games marked the 59th and 60th all-time meetings between Nichols College and Roger Williams University. The Bison have won two of the last three meetings after losing the previous nine, but trail the all-time series, 22-34-2.
 
Quotes
"Everything seems to blow up on us once we get two outs. We still don't have the answer for that. The lineup worked in game one but not so well in game two. We tightened up a lot defensively a lot in game two, whereas we weren't quite there in game one. Courtney has been struggling at the plate lately and she had the key hit to win the first game. We cut down on our strikeouts in game two but scored more runs in game one. We missed signs and didn't pay attention on the bases in game two, and that really hurt us." – Nichols head coach Heather Korzec
 
"As you know, I've been struggling with the bat. For me, I just went up there with confidence. I told myself just to do what you know how to do. I was just looking for a strike. I wanted to swing hard and see what I could do." – Manarky, on her game-winning hit in game one
 
Next Games
Nichols (7-9, 2-4 CCC) – Sunday, April 10 vs Curry, 12:00 p.m.
Roger Williams (10-12, 4-2 CCC) – Sunday, April 10 vs UNE, 12:00 p.m.