Manchester, N.H. (April 8) -- After dropping
game on to Southern N.H. by a 6-3 final, the Saint Anselm softball
picked up a split with a 2-1 victory in game two. The Hawks are now
12-13-1 overall and 4-5-1 in the Northeast-10 Conference with the
split.
In game on, the Hawks jumped on top early in the second inning
as Brittany Birch (Bradford, Mass.) roped a
three-RBI triple to right center to clear the bases for the 3-0
lead. Birch finished the game 2-for-3 with three runs batted in.
The game remained that way until the bottom of the fourth when a
bases-loaded walk scored the first run for the Penmen and a
two-RBI single up the middle by Melissa Vitagliano
tied the game at 3-3. The game-winning runs came in the bottom of
the sixth on a three-run home run to right by Melissa
Pessotti, her second of the season.
Megan Lemire (Worcester, Mass.) took the loss
to drop to 7-5 on the season. She went six innings, scattering
seven hits with six earned runs allowed, one strikeout and three
walks. Ashley Bernstein picked up the win for the
Penmen to improve to 4-5 on the season.
In game two, the Hawks got all of the offense they would need
from freshman Morgan Murphy (Orange, Mass.) as the
rookie launched a towering home run into the parking lot
beyond the center field fence for a 2-0 lead in the third inning.
The home run was Murphy's league-leading seventh home run of the
season and is currently the second-best single-season total in
Saint Anselm history.
Saint Anselm starter Lisa Caruso (Granby,
Conn.) kept the Penmen off the scoreboard until the
final inning as a Bernstein single through the left side cut the
Hawk lead in half. Caruso picked up the complete-game win though to
improve to 1-3 overall after allowing just three Penmen hits.
Murphy finished the game 2-for-2, while Raylyn Glavin
(Saugus, Mass.) was 2-for-3 with one run scored.
Kelsey Griffin took the loss for the Penmen,
falling to 3-1 overall.
Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday afternoon, hosting
American International for a Northeast-10 doubleheader beginning at
Noon.
