LYNDHURST, N.J. – Senior Jackie Giannino (Beverly, Mass.), sophomore Lauren Galavotti (Marion, Mass.) and freshman Nicole Boucher (Woonsocket, R.I.) combined to drive in 13 runs on four home runs and eight extra base hits as the Saint Anselm College softball team swept a pair of games from Felician College on Saturday at Matera Field. The Hawks won game one, 12-3, and were victorious in game two, 7-3.
The Hawks have now won three straight and are 8-5, while the Golden Falcons drop to 2-10.
In game one, Giannino went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI, while Galavotti was 3-for-5 with three doubles and four RBI. Boucher was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Sophomore Shannon Dalton (Concord, Mass.) tossed a complete game, giving up three runs on six hits and striking out 10.
Saint Anselm jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two innings and extended its lead to 10-0 after four. Galavotti put the Hawks on the board with an RBI double in the first before Giannino belted a two-run homer to make it 3-0. The Hawks then put four runs on the board with two outs in the second on a Galavotti two-run double and another two-run blast from Giannino. Boucher used a two-run homer of her own to run the score to 10-0 in the fourth.
Felician extended the game with two runs in the bottom half of the fourth and added one in the fifth to make it 10-3. Senior Kayla McEachern (Stoneham, Mass.) homered to lead off the seventh and Galavotti drove in another run with a double to close the scoring.
In game two, Boucher again went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Senior Brittnee O'Neill (Ashland, Mass.) went 4.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits to earn the win, while freshman Christina Boehn (Stamford, Conn.) tossed the final 2.2, relinquishing two runs – one earned – on two hits to earn the save.
Felician jumped out to a 1-0 run in game two until Saint Anselm score two unearned runs in the top of the second. The Hawks added to their lead in the fifth on an RBI single from McEachern and a steal of home by freshman Cara Crowley (Lynn, Mass.). Boucher's two-run shot in the sixth made it 6-1 before an RBI double by Giannino in the seventh pushed the lead to 7-1.
The Hawks return to action Sunday for a pair at Dominican (N.Y.) at 1 and 3 p.m. Saint Anselm and Dominican split a pair of games in Florida on March 3.