GORHAM, Me. - Despite a pair of hits from sophomore Madison Zicchinelli (Miller Place, N.Y.), the Western Connecticut State University softball squad dropped a pair of games at Southern Maine in the Little East Conference opening twin bill for both teams on Sunday. The Wolves faced tough pitching in both contests as they were downed in the opener, 7-0, before being edged in the late game, 2-1. 

The visitors encountered a solid Southern Maine pitching effort in Game One. Junior hurler Lauren Merrill (Bethel, Me.) tossed a complete game seven inning shutout. She surrendered just three hits while striking out five WestConn batters. 

The Wolves pierced the scoring column first in Game Two. Rookie Benni Tucci (Norwalk, Conn.) led off the game with a bunt single before stealing second. She advanced to third on a passed ball before classmate Alexis Resto (Shelton, Conn.) sent her across the plate with an RBI groundout. 

The Huskies answered quickly with a run in the bottom half of the frame. Junior Madison Day (Otisfield, Me.) led off the inning with a walk before scoring on a passed ball. 

With two outs, Southern Maine drew back-to-back walks in the fifth. Senior Hannah Shields (Buckfield, Me.) then belted a single thru the right side to score the would-be game-winning run. 

With the pair of losses, the Wolves dropped to 10-10 overall and 0-2 in league play, while the Huskies improved to 6-8 and 2-0.