Leominster, Mass.
(April 2) -- The Saint Anselm softball team moved
over the .500 mark with a sweep of Franklin Pierce on Thursday
afternoon. The Hawks took game one by a 6-3 final before capturing
game two, 4-3, in nine innings.
Saint Anselm took an early 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI
single to left center by freshman Morgan Murphy (Orange,
Mass.) that scored Brittany Birch (Bradford,
Mass.). The Hawks added to the lead in the fourth with a
solo homer by Liz Trafton (Berwick, Maine) before
Franklin Pierce tied things at 2-2 in the bottom of the inning.
The Hawks seized the lead for good in the fifth with a pair of
unearned runs and an earned run scored by Murphy after a walk by
Trafton. Murphy closed out the scoring for the Hawks with her
fourth homer of the season and the 6-3 win. Megan Lemire
(Worcester, Mass.) went the distance, scattering five hits
with two earned runs and three strikeouts to improve to 7-3 on the
season. Murphy ended the game 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs
scored, along with two hits each by Trafton, Jaclyn
Giannino (Beverly, Mass.) and Kayla McEachern
(Stoneham, Mass.). Jessica Wiley took the
loss for the Ravens, falling to 2-3 overall and three earned runs
allowed and five strikeouts in seven innings.
In game two, the Hawks took a 2-0 first-inning lead on an RBI
single down the left field line by Trafton that scored
Katherine Theodorou (Glen Cove, N.Y.) and an
unearned run by Trafton. After Nicole Baginski (Beverly,
Mass.) pushed the lead to 3-0 in the top of the fourth,
the Ravens tied it up with one run in the fourth and a two-run
homer to left center by Stephanie Howard in the
sixth. The score remained that way until the ninth when three
Franklin Pierce errors helped the Hawks to the victory. Freshman
Kat Scafidi (Hudson, N.H.) crossed the plate with
the eventual game-winning run to complete the sweep.
Britnee O'Neill (Ashland, Mass.) picked up the
win, going nine innings with six hits allowed and three earned runs
with four strikeouts. Courtney Jacobs got the lost
for the Ravens, giving up nine hits and just two earned runs while
striking out 11 Hawks.
Giannino finished 2-for-4, along with a 3-for-4 showing with one
RBI by Moira McCabe (Brookline, N.H.).
With the sweep, Saint Anselm improves to 11-10-1 overall and
3-2-1 in the Northeast-10, while the Ravens now sit at 4-12 overall
and 0-4 in the league. The Hawks are back in action on Saturday
afternoon, hosting Stonehill in a doubleheader slated for a Noon
start.
