SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (5/7/24) – The third-seeded Nichols College softball team split the opening day of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament on Tuesday afternoon, defeating No. 6 Suffolk University in walk-off fashion, 7-6 before falling to host No. 2 Western New England, 2-1.
The Bison now stand at 23-19 (10-6 CCC) overall on the season.
Game #1
The Bison drew an early lead in the first inning as Silliman drove in the game's first run with a scoring double. After advancing on a passed ball, Silliman was then scored from third on an RBI single from Steiniger, increasing the lead to 2-0. Immediately after, Steiniger was brought home on an RBI double to left-center by senior
Lilly Fangel, bringing the score to 3-0 Bison.
Neither side was able to string anything else together until the fourth inning, when the Rams found their way onto the scoresheet with an RBI single. However, the Bison were quick to respond in the frame, as
Ava Slavinsky singled up the middle to plate Nichols' fourth run of the contest, restoring their three-run lead. Nichols scored again in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from
Bailey Littlefield, increasing their lead to 5-1.
After surrendering a run in the sixth to make it 5-2, the Bison encountered some bigger problems in the top of the seventh. With no outs and runners at first and second, the Rams cut the lead to 5-4 with a two-RBI double down the left field line. Following a pitching swap for the Bison, Suffolk evened the score with a bunt, before taking their first lead of the game on an RBI single through the right side.
Nichols answered back to tie the ballgame at 6-6 thanks to a Littlefield RBI single, forcing extra innings. The game continued on through scoreless eighth and ninth innings, before the Bison eventually walked it off on an RBI base hit to right from junior
Erin Gour, winning the game 7-6.
The victory in the circle went to junior
Chelsea Indyk (10-5), who allowed just two hits over 3.2 innings with a game-high five strikeouts.
Game #2
After a quiet first two innings, Nichols got on the board first in the top of the third. Sophomore
Riley Chartier led off the inning with a double to left-center field and advanced to third on a fielder's choice. Slavinsky then followed it up with a single through the left side to plate Chartier, making it 1-0 Bison.
However, the Bison lead would prove to be short-lived, as the Golden Bears answered with a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning to make it 2-1 for the hosts. From then onward, the score would remain unchanged, despite the Bison out-hitting Western New England by a 3-2 margin.
Indyk (10-6) shouldered the back-end loss for Nichols, allowing two runs on four hits through three innings of work. Freshman
Cassidy Machado finished out the game for the Bison in the circle, surrendering two hits with three strikeouts.
The Bison will continue their postseason push on Friday, May 10th against top-seeded Endicott College (24-13, 13-3 CCC), who will also be serving as the host site for all remaining games in the CCC Tournament.
