SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts – The American International College softball team kept its postseason hopes alive with a regulation 7-6 and 3-2 nine-inning victory to sweep of Assumption University in Northeast-10 Conference play on Thursday, April 24.

AIC improves to 11-19 overall and 6-12 in the NE10 with the wins.

A defensive gem ended Assumption's first threat in the top of the second, as Destiny McGrath snared a liner at short and flipped to Brianna Salazar covering second for the double play.

AIC then broke open the scoring in the third. Salazar singled up the middle to lead off, the first of five straight hits by AIC; Lauryn Ramalho and McGrath both bunted hits, and Nevaeh Trejo singled to right to drive Salazar in before Julia Krijgsman lifted a single to center to plate Ramalho and McGrath.

Isabelle Robinson pinch ran for AIC's pitcher, and immediately stole second; that proved critical, as she and Trejo both scored on Morgan Bemont's single to right center that made it 5-0 AIC.

The AIC defense turned another defensive stunner against the Greyhounds in the fourth, with Trejo snaring a low liner at third and firing across to Kayla Zimmerman for a 5-3 double play. The rookie then caused another run to score in her team's half of the inning; with McGrath at first after a single, she flipped the ball into right field for a hit, and the outfielder mishandled it, allowing McGrath to score.

In the sixth, the Greyhounds finally got to Krijgsman, loading the bases with a single and two walks and forcing a pitching change; all three inherited runners eventually scored as the visiting side connected for three more hits in addition to an RBI groundout against Trinity LaValley, but she snared a hard shot back up the middle and threw to first to get the final out with the lead still intact, albeit down to 6-5.

The Yellow Jackets scored a critical insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, as Ramalho smacked a two-out single to center. McGrath then reached on an error, and Trejo bounced back to the pitcher, but the throw eluded the first baseman, allowing Ramalho to score.

The Greyhounds quickly loaded the bases in the seventh with three straight walks, and Krijgsman returned to the circle, effectively attempting to save her own win. She was able to get a pop up and then a grounder to third that was thrown home for a force out, and though she walked the next batter to push a run in, the junior induced a 6-3 groundout to end the game with a 7-6 win.

In total, Krijgsman threw 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

In the second game, the Greyhounds struck first with two unearned; a fielding error put their leadoff hitter Erin Bloom on, and she was pinch run for; a double by Kaitlyn Cahill brought that runner home, and a bunt advanced Cahill home after she swiped third. AIC was able to escape without further damage, however.

In turn, the Yellow Jackets quickly tied the game. Salazar beat out an infield single, and Ramalho knocked a hit to center to put two on. Both scored on back-to-back hits by Trejo and Krijgsman, although Trejo was thrown out at home on the latter hit.

Both pitchers locked in from there and the hits were few and far between. Even in the rare situations where runners reached base, such as Cahill's fifth-inning double, the defense did its job; Cahill was cut down trying to steal third that frame, and Brooklyn Cividanes threw out another runner at second an inning later.

The game reached the seventh with the score still 2-2. Assumption had a runner reach by being hit by pitch, and Kaylee Lacomb pinch ran, swiping second. The Greyhounds tried to bunt her to third, and it ended disastrously; not only did AIC get the out at first, but Salazar then fired a perfect throw home to cut Lacomb down at the dish.

AIC could not walk it off in the seventh, nor in the eighth, while the Greyhounds left runners in each of the extra frames during their turn at the plate as Gabrielle Lambert worked as swiftly out of trouble as she ended up in it.

Finally, in the home half of the ninth, Bemont hit a one-out single and Salazar beat out an infield hit as well to put two on. Ramalho came to the plate with the game on the line, and drove a 3-2 pitch just out of the reach of Assumption's shortstop, scoring Bemont to win the game.

Lambert went the distance in an impressive showing. Two-thirds of her 96 pitches were strikes as she allowed two unearned on eight hits with one walk and two strikeouts across a complete-game nine-inning performance, the longest of her collegiate career.

AIC closes the regular season with a pair at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts on Friday, April 25.