NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – A pair of dominant pitching efforts that surrendered a single run on the day led the Pace University softball team to a doubleheader split against Assumption College on Saturday afternoon. After falling 1-0 in the opener, the Setters picked up a shutout victory of their own in the finale with a 5-0 win. The Setters record now stands 8-14 for the year as the team moves to 6-6 in conference play.

Inside the Numbers
*Jaclyn Flores (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual High School) had her best game of the season in the circle, leading the Setters to victory in Game Two. The senior went the distance, tossing seven shutout innings while allowing one hit and walking two. Flores struck out five, matching her season high total.

*Emma Bernet (Baldwinsville, NY/Charles W Baker) suffered the tough loss in the opener, throwing 6.1 two-hit innings. The sophomore struck out three while allowing three walks. While Assumption was able to get an unearned run off of Bernet in the seventh inning, she has not allowed an earned run in her last 19.1 innings of work.

*Ashley Lew (New City, NY/Clarkstown High School North) hit her second home run of the season in Game Two, legging out a two-run inside the park home run.

*Brianna Parks (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer), Jillian Gartner (Encinitas, CA/San Dieguito Academy), and Larissa Labs (Carlsbad, CA/San Marcos High School) all added RBIs in Saturday's finale.

*Aby Brambila (Newbury Park, CA/Newbury Park) had a pair of hits in Game Two, joining Niyah Brown (Chino, CA/Chino Hills) as the only Setter with multiple hits on the day.

Game One Recap: Assumption 1, Pace 0
In a game that saw just four combined hits across both lineups, the Setters and Greyhounds were locked in a pitching duel to open up Saturday's contests.

Pace would get into the hit column first in the third inning with a leadoff single from Tara Bernstein (Glen Oaks, NY/Bayside High School), but she would not get any further than second base. Assumption picked up their first hit of the day in the bottom frame, but the Greyhounds similarly left a runner stranded at second to end the inning.

Bernet and Assumption's Kendal Roy matched each other inning for inning as both offenses struggled to get anything going against the starters. Bernet retired 10 straight Greyhounds between hits, as Assumption was able to get another baserunner in the sixth off of a double, but Pace's starter struck out the next batter to head to the seventh still scoreless.

Roy was equally as impressive in the circle, putting away 13 straight Pace batters after Bernstein's single. Brown was able to snap her streak with the seventh with a single, but Roy retired the next two batters to end the frame.

Bernet recorded the first out of the inning, but her third walk of the day would prove to be the most costly. Nicole Duplease drew a walk and was pinch run for by Abigail Duggan, who stole second. Now in scoring position, Duggan was able to capitalize on a Pace error in the following at bat to score the lone run of the contest and give the Greyhounds a 1-0 victory in the opener.

Game Two Recap: Pace 5, Assumption 0
Game Two featured another pair of strong pitching performances to begin the contest, as Flores and Mia Nowicki were both working on shutouts through the first five innings.

Flores gave up a single with two outs in the first, but it would be the last hit Assumption would record on Saturday. The Greyhounds would only get three more baserunners for the rest of the contest off a pair of walks and a hit by pitch, with Assumption failing to get a runner to second base until the seventh inning.  Flores retired 13 straight batters at one point as the Greyhounds struggled to get anything going against the senior.

While Flores was shutting down the Assumption offense, the Pace bats were having a similar rough go through the first five innings. A pair of Greyhound errors in the first and a Brambila double in the second gave the Blue and Gold early scoring opportunities, but were unable to capitalize.

The Setters' breakthrough finally came in the sixth inning, with Lew reaching on a leadoff walk. The senior shortstop stole second and moved up to third on a wild pitch, scoring on a Labs sacrifice fly. A Brown triple two batters later had Pace set up for more, but Nowicki escaped with only one run on the board.

The Assumption starter would not be so fortunate in the next inning as the Pace offense hung a four spot on the board in the seventh. A Parks triple scored Annie Carberry (Colorado Springs, CO/Pine Creek), while Gartner singled one batter later to bring home the pinch running Meagan Wells (Foster City, CA/Hillsdale). Lew fired the final shot with her inside the park homer to chase Nowicki and put Pace ahead 5-0. With run support to work with, Flores recorded two quick outs and stranded a runner at third to close out the game and end the day with a Setter victory, snapping a four-game Assumption winning streak.

Up Next
The Setters will stay in North Andover to close out the weekend with a doubleheader against Merrimack College tomorrow. First pitch in the opener against the Warriors is scheduled for noon.