SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Down seven in the seventh, Suffolk softball put together a four-run rally, but was stopped there by Western New England and the Rams fell, 10-7, in game two of a Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader at the Golden Bears Softball Park.   

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 7 | Western New England 10
RECORDS: Suffolk (8-10, 1-1 CCC) | Western New England (7-6, 1-1 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Western New England started out strong with one run in the first and two more in the second to put the Rams in a 3-0 hole.  

The Rams battled back with a two-out rally in the bottom of the third. Maddie Southers started things off with a single to right and stole second. Jolie Quintana's single to third moved Southers over and Lily Gustafson's triple to right brought the runners in. Julia Mills' single up the middle scored Gustafson to tie the game at 3-all.  

The Golden Bears got the go ahead in the fourth with a single up the middle of their own. The RBI came off Gracie Hemstock's bat and brought in Shea McDaniel, who led off the frame with a base hit through the right side.  

WNE put up four runs on four hits in the top of the fifth and added two insurance tallies in the sixth for a 10-3 margin.  

Suffolk's offense was limited to just one base runner over those three frames, which allowed the Golden Bears to build the seven-run advantage. 

The Rams did not let the six-run distance discourage them in the bottom of the seventh. Instead, the blue-and-gold rallied back with four runs on five hits to force Western New England make a chance in the circle. The comeback featured RBI singles from Ella Turnbull and Mills and was capped by a two-run double from Becky Zellin.  

The pitching change proved to help as Catherine Carignan flew out to right to end Suffolk's comeback hope.  

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Cynthia Rucinski took the loss. She allowed eight runs, seven earned, on 11 hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 4.2 innings. 
• Ashlyn Conley put together a two-run, one-hit, one-walk, one-strikeout effort in 2.1 innings of relief. 
• WNE used four different pitchers. 
• Ava Blanchard earned the decision with 3.0 scoreless, hitless innings with three punchouts and one walk. 
• Riley Kane secured the save after locking up the final out. 
• Shelby Parr started and gave up three runs on four hits with three Ks. 
• Emilia Garcia let up four runs on five hits and one walk with one strikeout in 0.2 innings of work.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Mills went 2-for-4 with two RBI. 
• Gustafson brought in two runs on one hit, a triple, to go along with two runs and one walk. 
• Quintana contributed a 2-for-4 effort with two runs scored. 
• Zellin logged two RBI on one hit, a double. 
• Brandow and Southers each added one hit and one run scored, while Turnbull tacked on one hit and one RBI. 
• Ashley Hubner scored one run as a pinch runner.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Mills matched a career-high two RBI. 
• Gustafson had the first triple of her collegiate career. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Rams take a break from CCC play Tuesday, April 2 when they entertain Salem State in a twinbill with a 4:00 p.m. game on first pitch.