Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
WENHAM, Mass. — Down to their final strike in game two, Rachel Ryder (Telford, Pa.) and Kendall Bukuras (North Falmouth, Mass.) rescued the Fighting Scots from a mere home sweep at the hands of the Nichols Bison. Bukuras knocked her first triple of the year to score Ryder with two outs in the seventh inning to send it to extra innings. The Scots outscored the Bison 2-1 in the final frame to take home a 3-2 win in game two after dropping the first, 5-1. Skylar Bareford (Stonington, Conn.) pitched two complete games, while only giving up two earned runs to send the Scots to the playoffs. 
 
Nichols' Emalee Watkins (Malden, Mass.) and junior Avery Orszulak (Springfield, Mass.) each recorded three hits as the Bison moved to 10-16 (5-9 CCC) with the split. The Fighting Scots close the day 9-19 overall and clinched a spot in the Commonwealth Coast softball tournament, which begins in two weeks.
 
Orszulak's ground ball in the first inning of game one brought in Watkins and gave Nichols a 1-0 lead. Barrows two-run single in the sixth scored sophomore Victoria Utter (Stafford Springs, Conn.) and freshman Christina Drake (Lebanon, N.H.) to make it 3-0 before an unearned run in Gordon's half of the inning cut the Bison lead to 3-1.
 
Dalrymple's two-run single in the seventh gave junior starter Haley Fountain (Warren, Mass.) a four-run cushion en route to her seventh win of the season. She allowed five hits and one run with two walks and six strikeouts in seven innings of work. Senior Bareford fell to 7-18 as she allowed eight hits and five runs (one earned) in seven innings.
 
The second contest remained scoreless until the fifth with neither Fountain nor Bareford balking at the pressure of runners in scoring position.  Nichols' freshman Meghan Sears (Tewksbury, Mass.) led off with a double and Watkins plated sophomore pinch runner Alexa Polverari (Branford, Conn.).
 
Nichols took a 1-0 lead into the final half inning when the Fighting Scots finally made their move. Fountain quickly retired the first two batters of the inning to bring up the Scots hottest hitter, Ryder.
 
The junior third baseman earned a seven-pitch 3-2 count when the knuckled a ball just over the glove of the Bison third baseman for a two-out single. Bukuras fell behind in the count 0-2, but laced an off-speed toss down the right field line. The battled rattled around in the corner just long enough to allow Ryder to touch all the bases for the tie. Bareford looked to have the walk-off in order on the next play, but Nichols' Utter made an incredible diving catch at second base to add some free softball.
 
 In extra innings, the Bison struck first on a sac fly from Fountain, but the Fighting Scots scored twice in their half of the frame to walk off with the win. Freshman Katie Dariano (Albany, N.Y.) scored the tying run on a fielding error, before junior Gabriel Roberts (Center Conway, N.H.) two-out single brought home sophomore Marissa Meenan (Wayne, Pa.) with the winning run.
 
Bareford went the distance to earn the win, allowing eight hits and two runs (one earned) with two walks and three strikeouts. Fountain, meanwhile, fell to 7-11 and she surrendered 10 hits and three runs (one earned) in 7.2 IP. She walked one and fanned six.
 
The Fighting Scots play at Regis (MA) on April 22 at 5 p.m. Nichols hosts Western New England tomorrow beginning at 3 p.m.