A Quick Look
The New England College softball team dropped a pair of games on day 6 of their Florida spring trip.  In the opening game of the day, the Pilgrims fell in five innings to Loras College, 9-1, before falling to SUNY Brockport 11-7.  The two losses drop the 'Grims to 3-9 overall.
 
The Inside Story
Game 1 – Loras 9, NEC 1 (5 innings)
The Duhawks scored three in the first, four in the third and two in the sixth to total their nine runs.  The four runs in the third inning for Loras came on a two-run double by Emily Monahan and a two-run single by Ava Franklin.
 
The Pilgrims' lone run came in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single up the middle by sophomore Kate Gagne to bring home junior Grace Giesler, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning before moving into scoring position on a wild pitch.
 
Game 2 – SUNY Brockport 11, NEC 7
The Pilgrims trailed 9-2 after three innings, as the Golden Eagles posted four runs in the first, three in the second and two in the third.  Senior Olivia Simone led the Brockport offense with one RBI each in the first and second innings.  Simone had an RBI single to drive in classmate Kellie Gentile with their first run of the contest before hitting an RBI double to knock in Gentile again to make the score 5-1.
 
The 'Grims' first run of the game came in the top of the first inning, as they loaded the bases with one out.  Junior Surena Montero picked up an RBI when she grounded out to third bringing home Gagne from third base.
 
NEC picked up a single run in the top of the third inning with two outs.  Montero was hit by a pitch, followed by a single from classmate Carlie Panas.  Montero came around to score on an RBI single to right field by junior Julia Maker.
 
The Pilgrims closed the gap to 9-5 with three runs in the fourth inning.  Giesler got things started with a lead off single before moving to second on a ground out.  Giesler then scored on an RBI single by sophomore Abigail Grimes.  Grimes didn't spend much time on the bases, as the next batter, junior Emma Lopez, homered to center field to bring her home.

NEC pulled to within a pair of runs with two more in the sixth inning making the score 9-7.  This time it was Montero coming through with a two-out double to drive in both Giesler and Gagne.
 
The Golden Eagles added two runs in the home half of the sixth on a two-run home run off the bat of Reagan Myers with two outs.
 
The Pilgrims couldn't take advantage of a fielding error in the seventh, leaving two base-runners on.
 
Just the Stats
The Pilgrims managed only four hits in their short outing versus Loras.
 
In the second game, NEC collected 13 hits including two each from Giesler, Grimes, Lopez, Panas and Maker.  Montero finished the game with a team high three runs batted in.
 
What's Next
The Pilgrims will conclude their season opening trip tomorrow when the play St. Lawrence University and SUNY Farmingdale.