The University of Massachusetts Boston Softball team swept Framingham State University in a double header last Thursday, only giving up one total run between the two games. They won the first 8–0 in only six innings, and then won game two by a score of 5–1. 
Junior Jess Greenspan pitched a shutout in game one—further building on her tremendous season. She gave up five hits on the day and struck out two batters, earning her the win to improve to 10–3. The Beacons led 3–0 through three innings of play, but then exploded for four runs in the fourth, thanks in large part to multiple errors made by Framingham State. Senior Roxanne Vento stood out per usual, driving in three runs on two hits, including a triple. Sophomore Kelly Danahy found herself with a multi-RBI game as well, while junior Giovanna Bonilla drove one in herself. 
Game two was much more of a battle for the Beacons, and we saw a gutsy pitching performance from freshman Hayley Catania. She received some early help as junior Ari Bilotta put UMass Boston on the scoreboard first by driving in Bonilla on a fielder’s choice. That was in the first inning, and we would not see any more action until the sixth. Through these first six innings, Catania only gave up one lousy hit while putting on a dominating pitching clinic. She was finally given some room to breathe before she went out for the seventh inning, as the Beacons scored four runs in the home half of the sixth. Freshman Alley Diaute, sophomore Cassidy Gaeta, and Danahy all contributed in the inning with runs batted in. Catania gave up her second hit of the day and finally allowed a run in the seventh, but ultimately put Framingham State away with a 5–1 victory.
Earlier in the week, UMass Boston split a double header in a conference matchup with UMass Dartmouth. They won the first game 5–1, but fell in the second 10–2. Responding with the sweep of Framingham State, the Beacons quickly made up for the loss. Their overall record is now 14–9 to go along with a 3–3 conference record. This week, the softball team will have double headers against the University of Southern Maine, Lesley University, and Keene State College. 
Aside from the games played last week, two Beacon stars were recognized for their play. On April 1, Ari Bilotta was named LEC player of the week, while Jess Greenspan was named LEC pitcher of the week. On the year, Bilotta is batting an incredible .579 with 11 runs batted in. The week she received this award for, she went an unheard of 15–18 at the plate. Greenspan has made 12 starts for a total of 83.2 innings pitched, while striking out 51 batters and posting a 2.68 earned run average. For her week, she won all three games she started and struck out 16 opponents. It would be hard to find two players more deserving of these awards, and we should expect them to continue their strong play.

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Beacons Softball Sweeps Framingham State University