Ross Blasts First Career Homerun in Loss to Pride

The Newbury College softball team fell to non-conference Regis College, 12-8, in seven innings Friday afternoon. Third baseman Ariel Ross (Gales Ferry, Conn.) capped off a seven run fifth inning launching the first homerun of the spring – from either baseball or softball – to plate three runs to cut the Pride lead to one, at the time.

Regis jumped on the scoreboard early scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Centerfielder Kara Donovan (Woburn,Mass.) drew a one out walk from Newbury starter Rebecca Roach (Charlton, Mass.). Pride starter Kendra Abram (Acushnet, Mass.) kept the inning going with a base hit then swiped second on a double steal. Following first baseman Hope Benjamin’s (Rochester, Mass.) ground out to third, third baseman Rachel Cavella (West Roxbury, Mass.) drove home Donovan with the first run of the game. Designated hitter Sarah Porteus (S. Wellfeet, Mass.) plated the second Regis run with another single.

After stranding Newbury second baseman Teressa Farioli (East Longmeadow, Mass.) on third following a two-out base hit up the middle, the Pride bats remained red-hot as they extended their lead in the top of the second. Manavas led off the frame with a base hit followed by right fielder Shannon Bradish (Lawrence, Mass.) reaching on a hit by pitch.

The Nighthawks almost got out of the inning unscathed. After getting shortstop Jacquelyn O’Toole (East Boston, Mass.) to strike out swinging for the first out, Roach induced a ground ball to third but Ross failed to get the out at first to load up the bases. Abram reached on a dropped third strike as the ball squirted by the catcher to plate Manavas. Regis went on to score four more runs in the inning and would grab another in the top of the sixth, to go up 8-0 after four and a half.

Down by eight, Newbury was resilient and mounted a comeback as they batted around in the bottom of the fifth. Right fielder Sarah Thornton (Clifton Springs, N.Y.) reached on a walk to lead off the home half. She advanced when left fielder Audrey Spataro (Holland, Mass.) lined a base hit back where it came from to give the Nighthawks first and second with no one out. Shortstop Theresa Hylinski (Stratford, Conn.) reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced on a pass ball by Manavas before centerfielder Samantha Rios (Bronx, N.Y.) drove in the first Nighthawk run with a line drive into centerfield.

Newbury was not done. After Farioli reached on an error by the shortstop as Hylinski came in the back door for the second run, Roach helped her own cause scorching a laser down the third baseline, plating both Rios and Farioli. First baseman Jessy Touron (Brockton, Mass.) kept the inning alive with a base hit to the left side of the infield before Ross blasted, her first homerun of her collegiate career, over the left fielder’s head cutting the deficit to one run.

The Pride responded in the top of the sixth with three runs raised the lead to four but the Nighthawks began to chip away plating one in the home half. Regis answered and pushed their lead back to four getting a run in the top of the seven.

Newbury falls to 0-11 with the loss while the Pride earn their first victory of the season and improve to 1-12. The Nighthawks return to the diamond on Monday March 28^th when they host a double-header against Maine Maritime. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00pm.