East Providence, R.I. – The Simmons softball team picked up a pair of a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contests against Johnson & Wales at Pierce Field on Saturday afternoon. Simmons posted an 8-2 win in the opener and finished the day with an 8-0 victory in the nightcap.
Johnson & Wales jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on and RBI single by sophomore Kristyn Galante (Northborough, Mass.). Simmons junior Meredith Burr's (Londonderry, N.H.) RBI single in the top of the second tied the game at 1-1. The visiting Sharks then put four on the board in the top of the third, including a two run double by sophomore Leah Derderian (Boylston, Mass.) to take the 5-1 lead. JWU responded in the bottom of the third when an RBI single by Galante cut the deficit to 5-2. That would be as close as the Wildcats would get, however as Simmons added three in the top of the fourth on a three run home run by senior Natalie West (East Bridgewater, Mass.) to take the 8-2 lead.
The Sharks would then hold on for the 8-2 victory. Derderian was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI while senior Ann Talarico (Ware, Mass.) was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs in the victory. West went the distance to pick up her second win of the season. In the nightcap, Simmons would get the only run it would need in the top of the second on an RBI single by junior Sam Green (Bridgewater, Mass.). The Sharks added two more in the third and exploded for five runs in the fourth en route to the 8-0 victory. West went 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBI in the victory for the Sharks. Sophomore Sammi Letizio (Windham, N.H.) pitched the complete game shutout for Simmons, allowing only two hits with seven strikeouts to notch her seventh win of the season.
