North Andover, Mass. (April 18) -- After
dropping a 4-3 final in game one at Merrimack, the Saint Anselm
softball team won a 14-13 slugfest to split a doubleheader with the
Warriors on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 play.
Merrimack took a 1-0 lead in the second inning and stretched
that to a 4-0 advantage in the bottom of the fifth behind a two-RBI
double by Kara Melillo. Saint Anselm pulled to
within one run in the top of the sixth behind a three-run home run
by freshman slugger Morgan Murphy (Orange, Mass.).
The Hawks could get no closer though in the 4-3 loss, managing four
hits in the game off Merrimack starter Jill
Gagnon.
Megan Lemire (Worcester, Mass.) took the loss
to fall to 8-8 on the season, scattering eight hits in six innings
with four unearned runs allowed. Gagnon struck out nine for the
Warriors to improve to 11-5 overall.
In game two, the Hawks jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first
inning behind six hits in the inning. A two-RBI double by
Jackie Giannino (Beverly, Mass.) led the offense
in the inning as she finished 1-for-4 with one run scored in the
game. The Hawks scored single runs in the second, third and fourth
innings, but the Warriors erupted for 10 runs in those innings and
held a seemingly comfortable 13-8 lead after four innings.
In the sixth, the Hawks used a solo home run from senior
Nicole Baginski (Beverly, Mass.) and a two-run
homer by Murphy to close to within 13-11. The long ball continued
to work for the Hawks in the seventh as Kayla McEachern
(Stoneham, Mass.) blasted a three-run shot to left center
to win the game for the Hawks. Lemire set the Warriors down in
order in the seventh to pick up the win as she is now 9-8 on the
season.
McEachern was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI,
while Baginski was 3-for-4 with one run scored and three RBI.
Murphy, who finished the game 1-for-4 with one run scored and three
runs batted in, now has 10 home runs for the season, the Saint
Anselm rookie record.
With the split, the Hawks are now 14-19-1 overall and 6-11-1 in
the Northeast-10. Saint Anselm is back in action on Sunday
afternoon, hosting Bentley for a Northeast-10 doubleheader
beginning at 1 p.m.
