(Game 1 Box ) (Game 2 Box)

            NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Plymouth State University softball team swept the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in a pair of Little East Conference games Saturday afternoon, winning the first game in extra innings, 2-1, and taking the nightcap in a near no-hitter, 6-3.

            PSU sophomore Ali Keith (Northfield, N.H.) allowed just six hits and one run over eight innings of the opener, walking none and striking out seven.  She allowed only a first inning run when freshman Breanna Marcyoniak (Westfield, Mass.) led off with a double and scored on a single by sophomore Hannah Rounds (Somewhere).  Keith did the rest, allowing only four hits over the next seven scoreless innings.

            The Panthers tied the game in the fourth inning when Heather Blase (Milford, N.H.) led off with a double to left center.  A walk and a hit-batter loaded the bases and sophomore Amy Green (Atkinson, N.H.) drew a two-out walk to score a run.  PSU, playing as the home team, tallied the winning run in the bottom of the eighth on three singles by sophomore Allie Luisi (North Kingstown, R.I.), junior Kortney Nedeau (Kennebunk, Maine) and senior Kay LaBrie (Somersworth, N.H.).

            Freshman Diana Bean (Danvers, Mass.) took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of the night for PSU, allowing only two UMD base-runners in the first six innings on errors. The Panther offense, meanwhile, piled up six runs on 10 hits to pull away, plating two runs in the second and third innings and one in the fourth and fifth.

            Freshman Kristen Vibberts (West Hartford, Conn.) drew a based-loaded walk in the second to open the scoring, and Luisi added an RBI single.  Junior Andrea Pydnkowski (Danvers, Mass.) and Nedeau cracked RBI doubles to highlight the third and fourth inning rallies, and LaBrie scored on a passed ball in the fifth to round out the PSU scoring. Luisi reached base in all four plate appearances for PSU with two singles, a double and a walk. 

            Senior Emily Suprenant (Attleboro, Mass.) broke up the no-hitter with a lead-off single in the seventh inning.  Hogan and Berube followed with run-scoring hits and sophomore Diane Barry (Norwood, Mass.) added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-3, but Bean retired the next two batters to seal her second win of the season.

            PSU, 4-9 overall and 2-0 in the LEC, plays a non-conference doubleheader Thursday at Lyndon State (3:00 p.m.)  UMass Dartmouth, 4-8 overall and 0-2 in conference play, hosts Framingham State in a twinbill Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.   

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