SALEM, Mass. – Suffolk softball held off a late rally by Salem State in the seventh to take a 9-6 nightcap win over the Vikings and lock up the non-conference series sweep Tuesday at Alumni Field.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 9 | Salem State 6
RECORDS: Suffolk (7-16) | Salem State (9-21) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk burst out to a 4-0 lead in the first thanks to a trio of doubles that brought runs in. Ira Boci and Ava Brandow barreled back-to-back one-run, two-baggers, while Catherine Carignan chipped in a pair of RBI with her first of two doubles of the day. 

Salem State got one run back in the bottom of the inning with a bases loaded walk and sliced the gap in half in the home half of the third.  

The Rams restored the four-run margin in the fourth. Once again doubles played a factor as Boci's second double of the outing brought in Rebecca Gonzalez, who got the inning going with a single. Boci came in two batters later, thanks to Ella Turnbull's base hit up the middle to make it a 6-2 game. 

SSU wasted little time to make up those two runs as it scored a pair in the home half of the fourth.  

Following a scoreless fifth, Brandow's two-run single doubled the distance once again in the sixth, 8-4.  

After Brandow retired the side, Suffolk extended the gap to five in the seventh. Carignan walked to lead off and came in on Diana Rucinski's single to center.  

Once again Salem State had a flair for the dramatic and managed to put together a comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Two runs trimmed the margin down to three, but Brandow managed to get the next two outs with help from her defense to keep the victory in Suffolk's favor.  

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Brandow shoved a six-run (four-earned), 12-hit, three-walk, six-strikeout, complete-game. 
• Hailey Langenfeld took the loss after allowing four runs on five hits in just 0.1 inning of work. 
• Janeishelly Morales put together a four-run (three-earned), nine-hit, one-walk, two-strikeout effort over 5.2 frames. 
• Katherine Quigley gave up one unearned run on one hit and one walk with one strikeout in her 1.0 frame of relief. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Carignan went 3-for-3 with two doubles for two RBI and one run scored. 
• Brandow finished with a 3-for-4 effort that included one double for three RBI and one run. 
• Boci's two hits were both doubles. She brought in two runs and scored two herself. 
• Gonzalez compiled a 2-for-2 showing with a pair of runs scored. 
• Lily Gustafson chipped in two hits, including one double, and two runs scored. 
• Turnbull and Rucinski each tallied one RBI on one hit. 
• Becky Zellin scored one run as a pinch runner. 

NOTEWORHTY

• The Rams stretched their win streak to three versus the Vikings to move to 7-1 since 2015 against SSU. 
• The Rams swept the Vikings in a twinbill for the first time since 2016 and third time overall since 2015.   
• Suffolk is unbeaten, 2-0, against Salem State in the Janet Maguire era. 
• Boci barreled a career-best two doubles to match a career-high two RBI. 
• Brandow matched a career-high three hits. 
• Carignan set a new personal-best in hits (3) and matched a career-high in doubles (2) and RBI (2). 
• Gonzalez tied a career-high in hits (2) and runs scored (2).  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk meets UMass Boston in a single-game affair Thursday, April 20 at East Boston Memorial Park at 4:00 p.m.