BIDDEFORD — Endicott College rode the strong pitching of senior Nell O’Connor and sophomore Courtney Blake to a 6-2, 9-0 doubleheader sweep of the University of New England in Commonwealth Coast Conference softball action Sunday afternoon at Claude Dubois Field.

The Gulls improved their record to 17-6-1 overall while maintaining their lead atop the conference standings with a 9-1 mark. UNE drops back to 20-12 (10-6 CCC).

Endicott jumped out early in game one, forging a 5-0 lead after two innings. In the first inning, sophomore Sam DiBella singled home senior Jesse Bilafer, who had drawn a leadoff walk. One inning later, the Gulls scored four unearned runs after a UNE miscue on a sacrifice bunt with runners on first and second. The big blow came with the bases loaded when senior Alex Moise cleared the sacks with a base hit to center. She was thrown out trying to advance to second on the play, but not before Endicott had built a 5-0 advantage.

UNE broke into the scoring column in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore Amanda Vallante led off with a double to right-center. She moved up to third on a groundout, then came across on junior Adrienne Chase’s one-out grounder to second base.

The Gulls got that run back in their next at-bat as sophomore Emily Hoffman singled through the left side to score Moise.

Big Blue scored one more time in the home half of the sixth when senior Jessica Potter pushed home Vallante with a bases-loaded groundout.

O’Connor improved her record to 8-1 with a four-hit performance. She worked her way around five walks while striking out three.

Offensively, Moise had two of the Gulls’ nine hits, and Bilafer scored twice.

Vallante had a pair of doubles for UNE, while sophomore Abby Lambert was the pitcher of record. Lambert allowed six runs (two earned) over the first five innings.

Blake held the Nor’easters off the scoreboard in the nightcap to keep her record unblemished at 5-0. She allowed six hits and no walks while striking out three.

The Gulls got all the runs they would need in the first inning. Hoffman had a two-run triple, and first-year Rachel Couto provided a RBI double.

Endicott pushed across single runs in the third and fourth before putting the game away with a four-run seventh frame. DiBella had a two-run bomb over the left-field fence to account for half of the Gulls’ four runs in the seventh.

DiBella, Bilafer, Couto and first-year Chrissy Gikas had two hits apiece to fuel Endicott’s 11-hit attack. Moise scored three times for the Gulls, who drew nine walks.

Vallante and sophomore Kelly Murphy each had two hits for UNE. Sophomore Lauren Doneski took the loss in the circle to drop her record to 8-4. She surrendered four earned runs over the first five innings before giving way to first-year Katelyn Austin.

Next up for the Nor’easters is a CCC home twinbill Wednesday versus Eastern Nazarene College. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Women’s Lacrosse doubles up Nichols

BIDDEFORD — The University of New England tallied a season-high in goals behind a combined 11 from junior Gina Newsome and senior Hannah Tavella in a 22-11 win over Nichols College in Commonwealth Coast Conference women’s lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at the Big Blue Turf.

Big Blue brought an end to a three-game losing streak with the victory, improving to 7-6 overall and 2-3 in CCC outings. The Nor’easters have won all but one of the 15 all-time meetings against the Bison, who dip back to 7-5 on the year (2-3 CCC).

Newsome netted a season-best six goals and finished with nine points for the hosts, who never trailed in the match. Tavella had five goals and four draw controls, and junior Nikki Smith added three markers. First-year Jocelyn Davee registered a pair of goals to go with four draws and three caused turnovers, and classmate Shannen Healy picked up a game-high five ground balls.

UNE sophomore Courtney Kendall posted 17 saves for the decision between the pipes.

For Nichols, junior Erica Antonison notched three goals. Senior Grace Murphy went for two goals, two assists, four draws and five caused turnovers. Junior Alyssa Bufis also scored twice, and controlled a match-high five draws. First-year netminder Katherine Cotton turned away nine shots in defeat.

The Nor’easters got up 5-1 less than six minutes into the contest, and the difference was six (13-7) at the halftime break. Newsome factored in six of the goals for the home side.

Three more goals right out of the gate in the second period padded the lead for UNE to 16-7, and the teams played nearly even the rest of the way.

Big Blue stays in Biddeford for a key CCC date with Curry College on Tuesday.