Manchester, N.H. (April 19) -- On a sunny
Saturday afternoon, the Saint Anselm softball team split with
visiting Merrimack in Northeast-10 action. The Hawks won on a
two-run fielding error in game one for the 4-3 final, then dropped
game two by a 6-4 margin.
Game One
Merrimack took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Kelsey
Ellis drove in Jill Richards, who had
tripled to left field to get into scoring position. In the third it
was Ellis tripling to right center for the RBI that scored Richards
for the 2-0 Warrior advantage. Saint Anselm got on the board in the
bottom of the third on a blast to left field from sophomore
Megan Lemire (Worcester, Mass.) that cut the lead
in half to 2-1 before Ellis picked up another RBI with a single to
center to give Merrimack a 3-1 lead in the fifth.
The Hawks weren't about to go down quietly though and picked up
a run in the sixth on an RBI double by Nicole Baginski
(Beverly, Mass.) that scored Katherine Theodorou
(Glen Cove, N.Y.) and after a scoreless top of the seventh
for Merrimack, that stage was set for the dramatic rally.
After Lemire began the inning with a double to left field, she
was pinch run for by freshman Krista Merrill (Portland,
Maine). After a foul out to third base for the inning's
first out, pinch hitter Kayla McEachern (Stoneham,
Mass.) singled to center and Merrill advanced to third.
Merrimack then moved first baseman to Jill Gagnon
to pitch and Atlee Cahill came in to play first.
After McEachern stole second, the Warriors picked up the inning's
second out and look poised to take game one. On the final batter,
sophomore second baseman Moira McCabe (Brookline,
N.H.) hit a routine grounder to second, which was fielded
cleanly but was mishandled by the Merrimack first baseman.
McEachern came home from third to tie the game and Merrill crossed
the plate with the winning run for the dramatic 4-3 win.
Sophomore Katie Corey (Weymouth, Mass.) picked
up the win for the Hawks, going seven innings and scattering six
hits with three earned runs and four strikeouts. Clarice
Pepper took the loss for the Warriors, going 6.1 innings
and giving up six hits and four runs, two earned.
Game Two
Merrimack jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first behind five
first-inning hits, including a two-RBI hit by Kristen
Lemay. Bradford also picked up a pair of RBI on a single
to center. Merrimack added single runs in the third and fifth
innings to account for their scoring. Saint Anselm scored two in
both the third and fourth innings, but could get no closer. In the
third, Raylyn Glavin (Saugus, Mass.) and McCabe
picked up RBI's, while McEachern had a two-RBI double in the fourth
that scored sophomore Liz LeBrun (Rowley, Mass.)
and Baginski to finish off the Saint Anselm scoring.
Vicky Cotter got the win for Merrimack, while
Lemire took the loss for the Hawks.
With the split, the Hawks now sit at 16-12 overall and 10-8 in
Northeast-10 play, while Merrimack is now 8-18 overall and 8-12 in
the league. Saint Anselm returns to action on Sunday afternoon when
the team travels to American International for a doubleheader
beginning at Noon in Springfield, Mass.
