EAST BOSTON – Suffolk softball opened its home calendar with a 6-2 victory over Lesley Tuesday afternoon. The game was the opener for a non-conference twinbill at East Boston Memorial Park.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 6 | Lesley 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (13-4) | Lesley (6-5) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk tacked two on the board in the top of the first. Caitlin Murphy's dribbling single to second opened the offense. The senior centerfield swiped second and coasted in on Jolie Quintana's double to left field. A wild pitch moved Quintana to third and Ava Brandow's single to third allowed Quintana to come in for the early 2-0 edge.  

A costly overthrow error by blue-and-gold twirler Julia Newcomb allowed two Lynx to score and level the playing field at 2-all in the top of the second. 

Suffolk restored its advantage in the home half of the inning. Lily Gustafson took first on an error by Lesley's third baseman Jordan Day used a sacrifice hit from Newcomb to get into scoring position in time for Murphy's double to center field. The Rams' second extra-base hit of the day pushed the host ahead, 3-2.  

Alexa White followed a quiet third with a serious shutdown fourth. The junior right-handed hurler fanned the entire side, including a pair of looking punchouts, to keep the one-run gap in Suffolk's favor. 

Ira Boci doubled that distance in the bottom of the fourth when the sophomore sent a ball out of the park for the first time in her collegiate career. The catcher's no doubter lofted over the left field fence to make it a 4-2 game.  

Insurance came for the home team in the sixth. Rams waited in the corners after Bianca Luciano led off with a double and Boci singled to right field. Boci stole second during Gustafson's at bat that resulted in a 43 ground out that plated Luciano and pushed Boci to third. Pinch hitter Rebecca Zellin sacrificed herself to bring in Boci and give the Rams a 6-2 cushion.  

White tossed her fourth consecutive three-up, three-down frame to keep the Lynx quiet in the seventh. 

PITCHERS PICTURE

• White had a standout relief effort to capture the win. She logged 5.2 innings of scoreless, hitless with no walks allowed and six strikeouts. 
• Newcomb shoved 1.1 innings in the start and let up two runs on two hits with one walk and strikeout, respectively, to her credit. 
• Samantha Mecklenbur slipped to 0-2 on the season after allowing six runs, five earned, on eight hits with one K over 6.0 frames of work. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Boci contributed a 2-for-3 effort at the dish with one dinger. She brought in one run, scored two herself and swiped one bag. 
• Quintana provided a 2-for-3 plate performance with a double. She tallied one RBI and scored once. 
• Murphy chipped in multiple hits as well with two, including a two-bagger, to go along with one RBI, one run scored and one stolen base.
• Luciano's lone hit was a double. The right fielder scored one run. 
• Brandow registered a double and one RBI.
• Gustafson brought in one run and scored one run. 
• Zellin logged one RBI.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk has stretched its win streak against Lesley to five in row. 
• The Rams are now 12-1 versus the Lynx. 
• The six straight wins are the most for Suffolk since it strung 11 triumphs together April 21 to May 3, 2018.
• Suffolk won its first game in East Boston of the season defeated Lesley, 2-1, April 9, 2018. 
• Newcomb made her first collegiate start. 
• Boci knocked her first collegiate homer. 
• Boci matched a career-high in hits (2) and RBI (1) and scored two runs for the first time in her collegiate career. 
• Luciano hit her first collegiate double. 
• Murphy pushed her hit streak to four games. In that span she has seven hits including three straight games with multi-hit efforts.  

POST-GAME PIC

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk concludes its non-conference double feature with the Lynx under the lights tonight.