MANCHESTER, N.H. – Seniors Jackie Giannino (Beverly, Mass.) and Liz Trafton (Berwick, Maine), along with freshman Monique Gauthier (Canton, Conn.), combined to drive in seven runs as the Saint Anselm College softball team recorded a 9-3 win against Assumption College in the first game of a doubleheader Friday afternoon at South Athletic Fields on Senior Day. The Hawks dropped game two, 8-0, in five innings.
The Hawks move to 20-20 on the season, including 12-13 in Northeast-10 play, while the Greyhounds are now 23-16, 17-9 NE-10.
The Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second of game one after Trafton homered to left-center on the second pitch of the inning. Saint Anselm picked up its second run when freshman Cara Crowley (Lynn, Mass.) singled to score Gauthier, who followed Trafton's home run with a double to left.
Saint Anselm doubled its lead in the third with a two-out rally. Sophomore Lauren Galavotti (Marion, Mass.) singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and then stole third. Trafton walked and stole second, drawing an errant throw that scored Galavotti and allowed Trafton to take third. Gauthier then singled up the middle, scoring Trafton to make it 4-0.
The Hawks opened it up in the fourth with Giannino delivering the crushing blow in the form of a two-out, three-run homer to right-center that made it 7-0. A Nicole Boris home run to right in the top of the fifth put the Greyhounds on the board, but the Hawks matched the run when Gauthier homered to right on the second pitch in the bottom of the inning.
Assumption scored two more in the top of the six on a two-run single by Ashley Bilodeau, but Trafton's two-out, RBI single to left in the bottom half of the inning provided enough cushioning for the Hawks.
Sophomore Shannon Dalton (Concord, Mass.) went the distance, giving up three runs on seven hits. Dalton (13-6) struck out four and did not walk a batter.
Giannino was 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and a pair of runs scored, while Gauthier was also 3-for-4 with her home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Trafton went 2-for-3 with a walk, knocked in a pair of runs and scored two more. Senior Raylyn Glavin (Saugus, Mass.) was 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Galavotti was 2-for-4 and scored a run.
Game two, however, was a different story for the Hawks as they ran into some tough pitching in the form of Jennifer Lowrey. Lowrey tossed a complete-game, one-hit shutout, allowing a lead-off single to Gauthier in the third before retiring the final nine batters she faced. She struck out five and faced one batter over the minimum.
Sophomore Kelly DeSormier (Tiverton, R.I.) started and lasted three innings, giving up three runs on four hits. Freshman Christina Boehn (Stamford, Conn.) matched DeSormier's line in 11/3 innings, while classmate Gina Treglia (Fairfield, Conn.) worked 2/3 of an inning and allowed two runs on three hits.
Seniors Kayla McEachern (Stoneham, Mass.), Giannino, Trafton and Glavin were honored in between the two games.
The Hawks return to action on Saturday, April 30 (11 a.m./2 p.m.) when they take on the University of New Haven in doubleheader action.
