Hailey Berube ;picked up both a win and a loss in the circle for Rivier softball on Monday. (Courtesy photo by Nick Grace/Rivier Athletics)

NASHUA – The Rivier softball team opened up its Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) slate with a split with New England College on Monday night at Raider Diamond, winning the first game 1-0 before falling 8-6 in game two.

The Raiders moved to 8-8 (1-1 GNAC) while the Pilgrims now sit at 7-14 (1-3 GNAC).

Next up, Rivier will host Plymouth St. in a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday, April 10 beginning at 4 p.m.

It was a pitching duel in the conference opener, with Rivier’s Hailey Berube and NEC’s Olivia Olson each pitching shutouts late.

In the bottom of the seventh, Hayley Rapaglia came up with the bases loaded and no outs to provide a walk-off sacrifice fly.

Berube finished with a complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits and no walks while striking out two Pilgrims batters to improve to 5-1 on the season.

New England Col. 8, Rivier 6

In the nightcap, NEC took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-RBI triple off the bat of Abigail Grimes. Rivier would get one back in the bottom half as Olivia Couto produced an RBI double.

The Raiders rallied for four runs in the bottom of the second to take a 5-2 lead. Amanda Atkinson, Hayleigh Silva, Kylee Caetano, and Kyleigh Burtsell each knocked in runs to give their team its first lead of the contest.

Over the next four innings, NEC would battle back to regain its lead.

Christina Panagiotopolous sliced a single through the right side to score Atkinson in the bottom of the seventh, tying the game at 6-6.

In the top of the seventh, the Pilgrims would score twice to take the lead for good and earn their first conference win of the campaign.

Caetano and Atkinson both finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.

BASEBALL

COLON GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

After slashing .524/.542/.857 over a six-game stretch, junior left fielder Luis Colon of Rivier baseball was tabbed the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

Colon extended his hitting streak to seven games over the 2-4 (2-2 GNAC) week, recording 11 hits with four doubles and a homer. He compiled 8 RBI and scored 11 runs.

Along with his presence at the plate, Colon has yet to make an error in left field through the first 20 games, making 14 putouts on 14 total chances last week.

This honor comes after Colon was mentioned in the New England Baseball Journal’s article highlighting 10 of the region’s impactful transfer students.

Colon and the Raiders will return home to Holman Stadium tonight in a non-conference clash against Eastern Nazarene at 7.

MENS LACROSSE

ZAPATKA EARNS GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Junior midfield Michael Zapatka earned the title of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Week for his two seven-point performances this past week in two home wins against conference opponents.

On April 2, Zapatka and the Raiders grabbed a 17-8 win over Regis. Zapatka totaled three goals and four assists with a ground ball and a caused turnover.

In a 25-2 win versus Mitchell on Saturday, Zapatka totaled five goals with two assists. He also collected two ground balls and one caused turnover.

Zapatka and the Raiders will take on Wheaton (Mass.) with a face-off of 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9 at the Diane Nordin Athletic Field.

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