Springfield, Mass. (April 24) -- On Saturday afternoon, the Saint Anselm softball team ran into two outstanding starting pitchers who combined for 26 strikeouts and just five hits allowed as American International swept the Hawks by finals of 4-0 and 4-1 in the Northeast-10 Conference play at Judy Groff Field.  

After both teams were hitless heading to the bottom of the fourth, the Yellow Jackets got on the board with a three-run inning. Nicole Benoit and Stephanie Belanger got on base with two straight hits to start the inning and after an out on a fielder's choice, Michele Niejadlik bunted to load the bases. After an RBI by Laura Rousseau scored Belanger, back-to-back RBI singles by Becky Dion and Ashleigh St. Peter gave the Jackets the 3-0 lead.

Saint Anselm got its lone hit of the game in the sixth on a leadoff double to left center by freshman catcher Lauren Galavotti (Marion, Mass.), but could manage no more off AIC pitcher Kristen Dolan. The Yellow Jackets added an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth to account for the 4-0 final score.

For the Hawks, senior Megan Lemire (Worcester, Mass.) went the distance, allowing three earned runs while scattering eight hits to fall to 7-7 overall. Dolan allowed just the one hit and struck out 16 batters to improve to 9-8 on the season.

In the second game, the Yellow Jackets put up three runs as Nicole Benoit reached on a leadoff walk and came home on a single to left by Niejadlik with one out for the 1-0 lead. St. Peter launched a two-out single to right to plate the other two runs before getting caught stretching the play into another base as the Yellow Jackets lead 3-0 after the fourth inning.

Saint Anselm got on the board in the top of the sixth as freshman Amanda Massad (Grafton, Mass.) led off the inning with a triple to center and came home on an RBI single to left field from junior Raylyn Glavin (Saugus, Mass.). In the bottom of the inning, Belanger launched a homer to left center, her fourth of the season, to put the lead back to three runs at 4-1.

Freshman Shannon Dalton (Concord, Mass.) went the distance for Saint Anselm and dropped to 4-7 overall. For the Yellow Jackets, Elizabeth Habib scattered four hits and struck out 10 to improve to 9-10 on the season.

With the sweep, Saint Anselm falls to 16-20 overall and 9-13 in Northeast-10 play, while the Yellow Jackets now sit at 21-21 overall and 14-10 in the league.

Saint Anselm is back in action on Sunday afternoon, traveling to Assumption for a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. in Worcester, Mass.