Highlights: Lasell / UMass Dartmouth

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – Freshman Kendall Meehan (Danvers, Mass.) went 3-for-3 with two RBI to help the Nichols College softball team rally from a three-run deficit to stun Lasell College 7-4 before falling to UMass Dartmouth 7-4 Sunday at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic at the Cape Coral Sports Complex.

Meehan also went 3-for-3 against the Corsairs to raise her team-leading batting average to .619 (13-of-21) with four RBI. Sophomore Christina Drake (Lebanon, N.H.) was 3-for-5 with an RBI against the Lasers.

Nichols (2-4) entered the top of the sixth down 3-0 to Lasell before scoring a pair to cut its deficit to one. Sophomore Meghan Sears (Tewksbury, Mass.) knocked a grounder to short that could not be handled cleanly, allowing Drake and freshman Sara Monaco (Glen Cove, N.Y.) to score.

In the seventh, Drake plated freshman Courtney Manarky (Amston, Conn.) before freshman Kasey Ayer (Niantic, Conn.) scampered home on a wild pitch, giving the Bison a 4-3 lead. The Lasers (0-1) rallied back to tie the game in their half of the frame and force extra innings.

Meehan drove in Sears and freshman Taylor Fritze (Spencer, Mass.) with a single up the middle in the eighth to make it a 6-4 game. Later in the frame, a fielding error on a ball hit by Ayer allowed Meehan to score an insurance run.

Meehan surrendered 11 hits and four runs (three earned) over eight innings to earn her first collegiate win. She walked four and struck out five.

Nichols committed seven errors against the Corsairs (2-0) which led to six unearned runs. Trailing 7-1 entering their last at-bat, the Bison put up a '3' spot as sophomore Christina Barrows (Carver, Mass.) scored on a wild pitch and two more runs came in on an error off a ball hit by Ayer. Manarky also had an RBI single in the first for the Bison.

Nichols returns to action Tuesday with games against Alfred State (1 p.m.) and Saint Joseph's (CT) (3 p.m.) at the Lee County Sports Complex.