Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

BEVERLY, Mass. -- Endicott College received a walk-off, three-run homer from sophomore Nicole Devlin (Dudley, Mass.) to top the University of New England, 5-4, in the first game of two in The Commonwealth Coast Conference softball action Thursday afternoon, and then used a seven-run 4th inning to rally for an 8-4 win in the nightcap.

Winners of 20 straight outings, the Gulls (29-5) move to 21-1 in league contests, with a pair of games remaining against Western New England on Saturday. The Nor'easters drop back to 15-7 in TCCC meetings, and sit at 23-13 on the year.

In game one, the hosts went ahead, 1-0, behind a first-inning home run from first-year Jennie Lacolla (Stoneham, Mass.). UNE answered right back in the top of the second, getting a two-run shot from first-year Amanda Vaudreuil (Windham, N.H.).

An RBI-single in the third from junior Ashley Gott (Winterport, Maine) plated classmate Maegen Johnson (Standish, Maine) and increased the margin to 3-1. The Gulls threatened in the bottom of the frame with three, two-out walks, but UNE junior pitcher Julie Bigelow (Montpelier, Vt.) struck out the next batter to preserve the cushion.

Endicott failed to score with the bases loaded again in the fifth, only to see Big Blue sophomore Megan Gauger (South Paris, Maine) come right out in the sixth and push the lead to 4-1 with a lead-off blast to right.

Lacolla helped make it 4-2 with an RBI-single in the last half of the sixth, setting the stage for Devlin's moment in Endicott's last chance. An out sandwiched by two singles began the inning, before the designated player lofted her first home run of the season over the right field fence.

Bigelow allowed just one hit through the first four innings, and finished with six punch-outs. Her counterpart, Gulls senior Jenna Bortolotti (Milton, Mass.) struck out five while scattering five hits and three walks in the win.

UNE bounced right back up as game two started, scoring once in the second and twice in the third -- on a two-run double to left from Gauger -- to grab a 3-0 lead.

Endicott got one back in the third, but the Nor'easters restored the three-run difference (4-1) in the next stanza, as junior pitcher Erin Lyons (Salem, N.H.) hit another home run for Big Blue.

However, the Gulls took off in the bottom of the fourth, tallying seven runs to surge out in front. Lacolla kicked off the comeback with her second long-ball of the day, and her teammates followed with eight hits in the next 10 plate appearances to add on six more scores.

The Nor'easters recorded three, two-out singles in the fifth, and moved runners to second and third with two out in the sixth, but could not chip into the four-run deficit.

Sophomore Kayla Carignan came in for the final 3 1/3 innings to keep UNE off the board and earn the victory (8-0). Classmate Jocelyn Russo (Middletown, Conn.) led the Endicott offense with three base hits, while four others, including Lacolla, had two.

Lyons supported her own cause with a team-best three hits for the Nor'easters in game two, while Vaudreuil, Gott, and sophomores Erin Grover (Biddeford, Maine) and Casey Brigham (New London, Conn.), posted a pair of hits each.

UNE is off until Monday, when it visits non-conference foe Bowdoin College for two games -- the first beginning at 3:30 p.m.