Softball sweeps Monroe-Bronx, extends win streak to 10

Sophomore Emily Gil rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against Monroe College-Bronx.

04/16/2023

The Community College of Rhode Island softball team is peaking at just the right time.

Following a Saturday doubleheader sweep at Brayton Park against Monroe College-Bronx – and two more wins Sunday with the Express forfeiting both games of Sunday’s scheduled doubleheader – the Knights have now won 10 in a row and are 13-7 overall heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

CCRI has not lost since April 2. Over the last eight games – not including Sunday’s forfeits – the Knights have scored in double figures seven times with a total of 118 runs, which is an average of 14.8 per game.

On Saturday, they beat Monroe College-Bronx 19-1 and 9-1 with both games ending after five innings. Freshman catcher Ashley Klingberg (Coventry, RI) finished an incredible 8-for-8 in the sweep with three RBI and four runs scored and sophomore outfielder Emily Gil (West Warwick, RI) went 4-for-6 with six RBI, including a three-run home run in Game 1. Sophomore second baseman and co-captain Casey Regine (Cranston, RI) and sophomore shortstop Lucie Willett (Charlestown, RI) combined for six hits and five RBI in Game 1 and sophomore infielder Abby Pinault (Pawtucket, RI) finished 3-for-3 with three RBI in Game 2.

On the mound, sophomore Samantha Marsella (Rehoboth, MA) cruised in Game 1, earning her fifth win of the season and allowing only one run on five hits over five full innings with four strikeouts. The Knights broke it open early with 14 runs in the bottom of the first before padding their lead with five more in the second.

Freshman Victoria Butler (Johnston, RI) produced a near identical stat line Game 2, also pitching a complete game while allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts. The Knights scored two in the first and busted the game open with five more runs in the bottom of the third.

To put CCRI’s recent offensive outburst into perspective, the team is now ranked No. 1 overall in batting average (.462) among NJCAA Division III schools, 10th in runs (197), third in triples (21), sixth in walks (90), and second in slugging percentage (.629).

Among the top performers, Klingberg has been unstoppable at the plate; she is second in the nation in batting average (.639), first in triples (7), sixth in hits (46), and ninth in RBI (32).

The Knights are off until Saturday, when they travel to New York for a doubleheader at Columbia-Greene Community College and close out the regular season Sunday on the road against NCAA Division III Bay Path University, which competes in the New England Collegiate Conference.

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