Rivier's Hayleigh Silva (1) is congratulated after scoirng a run as the Raiders swept Fitchburg State on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Rivier Athletics)

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Rivier softball team scored a combined 32 runs in a non-conference doubleheader sweep over Fitchburg St. Saturday afternoon at Donna-Lee Withington Field.

The Raiders posted a team batting average of .623 with 33 hits, nine of which were extra base hits.

The Raiders improved to 5-7 with the wins, while the Falcons fell to 1-12.

Rivier returns to the diamond on Saturday, Mar. 29 for its home opener and Mental Health Awareness game. The Raiders will take on non-conference opponent Thomas (Me.). First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at the Raider Diamond.

Rivier 21, Fitchburg St. 6 (5 inn.)

The Raiders wasted no time getting their bats going, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Graduate student Hannah Muchemore opened the scoring with an RBI, followed by an RBI single from classmate Kayla Miles that brought home senior Courtney Marioles. Sophomore Avry Nelson added another RBI single to left center, extending Rivier’s lead to 4-0.

Fitchburg State responded in the second inning, cutting the lead to 4-2 with runs scored on a sacrifice fly and a fielder’s choice.

Rivier tacked on another run in the third when junior Olivia Couto crossed the plate on a wild pitch. However, Fitchburg State surged ahead, taking a 6-5 lead after a run-scoring single to right-center.

The Raiders answered emphatically in the fourth inning, erupting for 11 runs. Sophomore Hayleigh Silva led off with a walk, and Marioles’ single brought her home to spark the rally. Miles followed with a two-run double to left, plating Marioles and Muchemore to reclaim the lead at 8-6. Nelson reached on a throwing error, allowing another run to score, and junior Hayley Rapaglia chipped in with an RBI single. After sophomore Sophia Quinlan reached on a fielder’s choice, Silva, junior Kylee Caetano, and Muchemore delivered back-to-back-to-back RBI hits, including doubles from Silva and Muchemore. A double steal by Miles and Marioles capped off the rally, putting Rivier ahead 16-6.

Rivier added five more runs over the final two innings, sealing the dominant 21-6 victory.

Silva and sophomore Hailey Berube split pitching duties, with Silva going two innings before Berube took over in relief, tossing three scoreless innings to secure the win.

At the plate, Caetano, Muchemore, Marioles, and Miles all went 3-for-5, combining for 12 runs scored. Silva and Couto also contributed, each going 2-for-4 and tallying six runs combined.

Rivier 11, Fitchburg St. 6

The Raiders carried their offensive momentum into game two, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning behind hits from Miles (single) and Rapaglia (double).

Fitchburg State got on the board in the second, scoring on a fielder’s choice. However, Rapaglia and Quinlan fueled Rivier’s next offensive surge. In the third inning, Rapaglia doubled to bring home Marioles, and in the fifth, she added a run-scoring single, while Quinlan delivered RBI singles in both innings to extend Rivier’s lead to 9-2.

The Falcons pushed across runs in the third and sixth innings, cutting the deficit to six. However, senior Sarah Frazier and Caetano provided insurance runs in the seventh, each recording an RBI. Fitchburg State managed to score twice in the bottom half, but Rivier closed out the game for the 11-6 win.

Berube got the start, striking out two over three innings, while Marioles pitched the final four innings in relief, striking out one and earning the win.

Offensively, Rapaglia had a perfect 4-for-4 game at the plate, driving in four runs and scoring three. Quinlan went 2-for-3 with three RBI, while first-year Natalie Benac recorded the first hit of her collegiate career.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

RIVIER 17, LASELL 8

Behind a double hat trick from sophomore Sofia Cebrero, the Rivier women’s lacrosse team defeated Lasell in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Saturday morning at Joanne Merrill Field.

With the victory, the Raiders improved to 3-3 (2-1 GNAC), while the Lasers fell to 4-2 (1-2 GNAC).

Lasell opened the scoring with a man-up free-position goal at the 11:18 mark of the first quarter. Rivier responded quickly, as first-year Ashlynn Ledoux found the back of the net to draw the game level. Junior Bailey Carroll added another goal a minute later, and Cebrero struck twice in quick succession to give the Raiders a 4-1 lead with 1:26 remaining in the opening frame. The Lasers halted Rivier’s run with another free-position goal, but senior Cassie Hemmerdinger scored with just five seconds left in the quarter, extending the Raiders’ lead to 5-2.

Cebrero completed her hat trick early in the second quarter, pushing Rivier’s advantage to 6-2 and junior Sarah Lachance joined the scoresheet less than two minutes later, making it 7-2. Lasell battled back with two goals in two minutes, but Lachance struck again before halftime to give the Raiders an 8-4 lead at the break.

The Lasers opened the second half with a quick goal, but Ledoux answered to restore the four-goal cushion at the 10:15 mark. Lachance completed her hat trick just 33 seconds later, extending Rivier’s lead to 10-5. After Lasell tallied another goal, the Raiders closed the quarter on a 3-0 run with goals from Cebrero, Lachance, and first-year Keegan McGaheran, who recorded her first collegiate goal.

Cebrero continued her scoring ways in the final quarter, scoring her fifth goal off a feed from sophomore Shaelyn Burke, who earned her first collegiate point on the play. Cebrero added her sixth goal with 8:44 remaining, followed by Ledoux securing her hat trick. First-year Brooke Carter capped the scoring, sealing Rivier’s victory.

Lachance led the team with a game-high 10 points, scoring four goals and dishing out six assists while also collecting seven draw controls and three ground balls. Cebrero finished with six goals and two caused turnovers, while Ledoux contributed three goals and an assist. Hemmerdinger filled the stat sheet with four points, 10 draw controls, seven ground balls, and four caused turnovers. Carroll added three points and two ground balls.

Senior goaltender Rachel Hinkley recorded six saves in the contest.

The Raiders outshot the Lasers 34-21 and held advantages in draw controls (19-8) and ground balls (27-22). Rivier converted on 17-of-23 clears (73.9%) while holding Lasell to 14-of-23 (60.8%).

The Raiders return to GNAC action on Wednesday in a road matchup against Albertus Magnus at Celentano Field. The opening draw is slated for 4 p.m.

MEN’S LACROSSE

RIVIER 16, NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE 11

Graduate student Michael Ference recorded 11 points to lead the Rivier men’s lacrosse team to a victory over Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival New England College (NEC) on Saturday afternoon at Joanne Merrill Field.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 5-1 (2-0 GNAC), while the Pilgrims fell to 2-4 (0-2 GNAC).

Graduate student Coby Mercier opened the scoring for Rivier with an early goal, followed by first-year James DelPrete, who netted his first collegiate goal just two minutes later, giving the Raiders a 2-0 lead at the 10:01 mark. NEC responded with a man-down goal, but junior Sean Callinan answered with a man-up goal to restore Rivier’s two-goal cushion. The Pilgrims struck again with just over four minutes remaining in the period, but consecutive goals from Ference and senior Sawyer Hall extended the Raiders’ lead to 5-2 at the end of the first quarter.

Sophomore Cole Ronalter added to Rivier’s tally with an early second-quarter goal before NEC responded with one of its own. The Raiders then exploded for a five-goal run in just 4:44, featuring three goals from Ference, a goal from DelPrete, and a man-up goal from senior Chris Heitmiller. The surge pushed Rivier’s lead to 11-3 with 6:26 left in the half. NEC countered with three goals before the break, trimming the deficit to 11-6 at halftime.

Rivier halted NEC’s momentum early in the second half as senior Michael Zapatka found the back of the net on a man-up opportunity. The teams then traded goals throughout the third quarter, with graduate student Connor Eck and Hall scoring for the Raiders to maintain a 14-8 lead heading into the final frame.

Rivier continued its high tempo play in the fourth quarter, securing two early goals from Mercier and Zapatka to put the game out of reach and seal the 16-11 victory.

Ference led the way with a team-high 11 points on four goals and seven assists, adding two ground balls. Mercier followed with four points while also collecting two ground balls and forcing two turnovers. Zapatka and Hall each tallied three points, while DelPrete contributed two. Senior Parker Williams anchored the defense with four caused turnovers and five ground balls.

At the faceoff X, Noah Zeman won 8-of-11 (72.7%) face-offs and secured a team-high seven ground balls, while junior Owen McDuffie went 8-of-13 (61.5%).

Graduate student goalkeeper Sawyer Gagnon made 13 saves in the contest.

The Raiders outshot NEC 62-36 and held a slight edge in ground balls, 36-34. Rivier also won 16-of-26 faceoffs (61.5%) and was nearly perfect on clear attempts, converting 19-of-20 (95%) while limiting NEC to 18-of-25 (72%).

The Raiders return to GNAC action on Saturday, March 29 when they face JWU (Providence) on Youth Lacrosse Day. Opening faceoff from Joanne Merrill Field is slated for 11 a.m.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

RAIDERS SPLIT

The Rivier men’s volleyball team cruised to a straight-set sweep of Dean before falling in the fifth set to No. 20 Lasell in a Saturday afternoon Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match at the Lasell Athletic Center.

The Raiders hit .323 as they downed the Bulldogs by set scores of 25-19, 25-9, 25-15 before falling to the Lasers by scores of 17-25, 25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 8-15. Rivier now sits at 8-11 (3-4 GNAC) with the results.

The team will return to the Muldoon Center after five games away from home on Tuesday for a GNAC clash with Regis (Mass.) set to begin at 7:00 p.m.

Rivier 3, Dean 0

Tied at 9-9 in the first set, Rivier used a kill from junior Matthew McCloskey to spark a 5-0 run to take a 14-9 lead as Dean called its first timeout. The Raiders’ lead got to as much as eight points at 20-12 as first-year Cody Fitzpatrick hammered his third kill of the frame. Sophomore Racine Camara recorded the Raiders’ 25th point, burying a feed from classmate Justin Barish. Sophomore Tyler Dickinson hit .667 with two kills in the opening set with one block assist to his credit.

Leading 17-8 in the second, first-year Cade Barron subbed in to serve for Rivier and jumpstarted the Raiders’ 8-1 run, which closed out the set. Rivier notched five kills and an ace while Barron was at the line. Dickinson (eight kills) and Camara (three kills) each hit .750 in the second.

Despite three tie scores early in the third set, Rivier was able to pull away in the third and earn the sweep thanks to a .478 team hitting percentage, three aces, and two blocks. Senior Bassam Awde led the charge in the third, posting three kills on three attempts.

The Raiders compiled a team hitting percentage of .373 while denying the Bulldogs’ offense, which hit negative.

Dickinson notched 10 kills at a .562 clip with a pair of blocks. Camara hit .417 with six kills and six digs, while McCloskey’s eight-kill performance resulted in a .350 hitting percentage. Barron finished with a match-high three service aces. Barish posted a team-best 24 assists.

No. 20 Lasell 3, Rivier 2

Trailing 11-9, senior Bassam Awde dropped in a service ace before junior Matthew McCloskey notched his first kill of the match to force the hosts to burn a timeout. The Lasers responded with a 10-4 run to make Rivier use a timeout of its own, now trailing 21-15. The Raiders could not slow the Lasell offense down in the late going, resulting in an early 1-0 deficit.

The second set featured 10 tie scores and seven lead changes, with the Raiders ultimately coming out on top to tie the match. Following a timeout down 21-17, Rivier benefited from three consecutive Lasell errors to force the home side into a timeout. Out of the break, first-year Cody Fitzpatrick registered a game-tying ace. Despite falling behind on the next point, two kills from McCloskey and two additional errors from the Lasers secured a three-point victory for the Raiders, evening the match at one-all.

The third set was also back-and-forth, as the score was tied four times with three changes of the lead. Rivier came out hot, getting out to a 5-1 lead thanks in part to back-to-back kills from sophomore Tyler Dickinson and three Lasell errors. The Raiders led by as many as six before a 4-0 run from Lasell forced the Raiders to regroup with a timeout. Rivier remained in front for much of the frame, but the Lasers would later take a 21-20 lead. The Raiders were resilient in the face of adversity and posted a 5-1 run over the closing points of the third to take a 2-1 lead in the match, capped off by a kill by sophomore Racine Camara.

Lasell took a 6-5 lead in the fourth and never looked back to tie the match and force a fifth and final set. Rivier hit .290 as a team in the fourth, but the deficit proved to be too much to come back from.

The Lasers began the fifth with a 6-0 run before McCloskey recorded a side-out kill to slow the momentum. From there, Rivier was able to whittle the deficit down to four on two occasions, but Lasell was able to fend off a comeback bid to avoid the upset, capping the match with a service ace.

Dickinson was a solid contributor on offense in the second match of the day, notching seven kills at a .294 clip while recording seven block assists. Camara posted a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. The 10 digs tied sophomore Luis Castillo and first-year Cody Fitzpatrick. Rivier’s blocking defense was solid as the squad notched 16.0 total blocks with Awde’s two solo blocks and eight block assists leading the way. Sophomore Justin Barish had 35 assists, four block assists, and three digs in the loss.