NEW LONDON, Conn. (April 26, 2026) – Emerson College bounced back from a tough one run loss in game one to earn a split of its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) softball doubleheader with the United States Coast Guard Academy at Alumni Softball Field on the campus of Mitchell College today. Coast Guard rallied for a 3-2 win in game one before the Lions took a 5-3 win in game two.
Yacovelli drove in both of the Lions runs in game one with a two-run double in the top of the first (PHOTO BY Andrew Monson) |
Game 1: Coast Guard 3, Emerson 2
Coast Guard erased a two-run deficit after a half inning of play to edge Emerson 3-2 in game one. Senior Dana Walker outdueled Emerson junior Cal Sheehan in the pitching circle to lead Coast Guard. Walker earned the complete game win (12-7), allowing two earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts and a walk in her seven innings of work, while Sheehan (5-11) struck out ten and yielded three runs, just two earned, on five hits without a walk over six innings.
Junior Abriana Schmutz hit 2-for-3 with a stolen base from the leadoff spot for Coast Guard with a run scored, while freshman Zoey Lynn went 1-for-3 with a double and RBI.
First year Casey Yacovelli continues to swing a hot bat for Emerson, finishing 2-for-3 with two-run double in the top of the first that spotted the Lions an early lead. Classmate Aislinn McCoy chipped in by hitting 1-for-3 with a run scored.
After Yacovelli's one out two-run double in the top of the first, Coast Guard rallied for the win. The Bears broke through in the bottom of the second by scoring with the benefit of a passed ball and error and then took the lead with a pair in the third. Sophomore Hayden Reilly knotted the score with an RBI single up the middle and then Lynn doubled to drive in Reilly with the go ahead run.
Walker did the rest to seal the win by retiring 12 of the final 14 batters, working around a lead off walk by Sheehan in the fourth and a one out infield single for Yacovelli in the sixth.
Luciano was 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot in game two, with a stolen base, RBI and two runs scored (PHOTO BY Andrew Monson) |
Game 2: Emerson 5, Coast Guard 3
Emerson grabbed a two-run lead in the first again in game two and this time made it stand to earn the NEWMAC split. Junior Kate Regan and Cal Sheehan combined to yield just one earned run and scattered four hits in the circle for the Lions. Regan posted her first win of the season, allowing two runs, just one earned, on four hits with a strikeout and a walk over the first six innings, before Sheehan sealed it in the seventh for her first save of the year.
First year Valentina Luciano paced the Emerson lineup by going 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot with a stolen base, two runs scored and an RBI. Aislinn McCoy was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Sheehan was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Abriana Schmutz scored two of Coast Guard's three runs in the game, while Hayden Reilly was 1-for-3 with a double and RBI. Freshman Ella Stolarzyk (Danville, California/Monte Vista) chipped in with a double for the Bears. Senior Emma Behel took the loss (2-4) in the circle, allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 3.2 innings.
Emerson loaded the bases with singles from Luciano and McCoy before sophomore Avi Kuperman walked to lead off the first. McCoy and Luciano scored when Yacovelli followed by reaching on an error before Behel retired the next three to escape the jam without further damage.
Coast Guard got on the board when Behel drove in a run on a ground out in the second, but Emerson restored the two-run lead in the third when McCoy drew a lead off walk and later scored on a two-out single to center by Sheehan. Coast Guard closed back within one again in the home half of the third as Schmutz led off with a walk and scored when Reilly reached on a fielder's choice.
Emerson extended its lead to three runs (5-2) in the fourth behind RBI singles from Luciano and McCoy. Coast Guard closed out the scoring with the benefit of a pair of Lions errors in the bottom of the seventh but was unable to get any closer than the two-run final deficit as Sheehan locked down the save with a game ending strikeout.
Up Next
Emerson (6-20, 3-12 NEWMAC) returns to action on Friday when it hosts Salve Regina University for a NEWMAC Senior Day doubleheader at Rotch Field starting at 3 p.m. Coast Guard (16-14, 10-8 NEWMAC) closes out its regular season slate at No. 24 MIT next Saturday for a NEWMAC doubleheader at noon.
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