SPARKILL, N.Y. – As a team, the Hawks pounded out 22 hits across two games as the Saint Anselm College softball team swept a doubleheader against the Spartans of Saint Thomas Aquinas College Sunday afternoon at Spartan Field. Both Saint Anselm victories snap an eight game losing streak as the Hawks improve to 6-10 overall on the season. The Spartans fall to 2-6 overall after today's non-conference contests.
In the opening game, the Hawks posted a 5-3 victory as pitchers Shannon Dalton (Concord, Mass.) and Tayla Trask (Lincoln, Maine) combined to strike out nine Spartans while holding the opposing offense to only three earned runs. Despite allowing all three runs in the first inning, the Hawks countered with five unanswered runs to secure the victory.
With two outs in the first inning, walks by catcher ToniAnn Groth and infielder Heather Clausen preceded a three-run home run by center fielder Katie Meyers to place the Spartans up by an early 3-0 lead.
With the game tied at three apiece following a two-run top of the fourth inning, the Hawks took the lead for good in the fifth inning. With Hawks catcher Lauren Galavotti (Marion, Mass.) at the plate, Saint Anselm implemented a double steal as center fielder Monique Gauthier (Canton, Conn.) stole second while second baseman Kat Scafidi (Hudson, N.H.) stole home plate to score the go-ahead run.
The Hawks added an extra insurance run in the top of the sixth inning as an RBI single by Hawks shortstop Nicole Boucher (Woonsocket, R.I.) plated pinch runner Danielle DiBiase (South Portland, Maine), who replaced left fielder Mary Fay (Stoughton, Mass.) following a one out single earlier in the frame.
Dalton pitched the first 2 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on only one hit and four walks. Trask (2-0) relieved Dalton in the middle of the third inning and collected her second victory of the season, yielding no further runs while striking out six batters in 4 1/3 innings of work. Junior pitcher Maura Power (2-2) drew her second loss of the season for Saint Thomas Aquinas, allowing four earned runs off of eight hits and two walks.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Hawks pounded out 14 hits to claim an 11-2 victory. Saint Anselm plated two runs in the top of the first inning, as Scafidi drove in Boucher with an RBI single and then later reached home plate from third base after Gauthier was thrown out trying to steal second. In the home half of the second inning, the Spartans knotted the game at two apiece after pitcher Megan Sweezy slapped a two-RBI single into the outfield.
The Hawks took a 3-2 lead in the third inning as the offense converted an opportunity with two outs in the frame. With Boucher and Scafidi retired to begin the inning, two consecutive singles by Gauthier and first baseman Noelle Lussier (Worcester, Mass.) placed a runner in scoring position for Saint Anselm. Galavotti added the Hawks third-straight single of the inning, plating Gauthier who reached home plate via the outfielder's throw.
Saint Anselm did not allow another Spartans run for the remainder of the game while scoring an additional eight runs before the game was called following the completion of the fifth inning.
In a six-run fourth inning for the Hawks, Saint Anselm pounded out five consecutive hits alongside three errors by the Spartans defense to increase their lead. Cumulatively in the game, eight out of the nine Hawks batters collected hits in the contest, as Scafidi, Gauthier, Lussier and Galavotti each collected two hits. In the visiting half of the fifth inning, pinch hitter Hayley Leclaire (Hudson Falls, N.Y.) stroked her first collegiate home run, driving in DiBiase to conclude the scoring on the afternoon.
Hawks pitcher Alexis Bogdanovich (South Portland, Maine) collected her first collegiate victory on the afternoon, allowing only three hits while striking out 10 opposing batters. Sweezy (0-4) allowed six earned runs through 4 2/3 innings pitched, striking out one Saint Anselm batter.
NOTABLES: Five different players recorded three or more hits in today's doubleheader as the Hawks reached double-digit run totals in the second contest for the first time all season…Hawks pitcher Tayla Trask ranks fourth in the conference in strikeouts with 32 to her credit…Saint Anselm was 6-for-7 when stealing bases today…Cumulatively, the Hawks batted a combined 22-for-58, a .379 batting average as opposed to their opponent's .205 (9-for-44) batting average.
Saint Anselm returns to action Tuesday, Mar. 20 as they travel to Penmen Field to take on cross-town rival Southern New Hampshire University in a doubleheader beginning at 4:00 p.m. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by "liking" us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and subscribing to our Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).