WALTHAM, Mass. - Powered by five hits and five runs batted in across two games Sunday afternoon, third baseman Hannah Byrne (Lynn, Mass.) and the Saint Anselm College softball team posted a sweep of the Falcons of Bentley University by scores of 9-1 and 7-4. With the sweep, the Hawks improve to 9-13 overall on the season alongside a Northeast-10 Conference record of 3-3. The Falcons fall to 3-9 overall and to 1-3 within conference play.
Saint Anselm posted a 9-1 victory in the opening game of Sunday's doubleheader as the Hawks opened up a five-run cushion in the first inning. With shortstop Nicole Boucher (Woonsocket, R.I.) reaching base to begin the contest in her sixth-straight game, second baseman Kat Scafidi (Hudson, N.H.) followed her teammate with a single up the middle. The Hawks strung together a third-straight hit as center fielder Monique Gauthier (Canton, Conn.) singled back to Bentley pitcher Carly Taitz to load the bases. After recording a fielder's choice out, the Hawks struck first with an RBI single to right-center field by Byrne to take a 1-0 lead.
With the second out of the inning recorded by a fielder's choice by Cara Crowley (Lynn, Mass.), left fielder Mary Fay (Stoughton, Mass.) singled through the left side for the Hawks second run of the inning. The big blow in the frame came when first baseman Olivia Story (Middleton, Mass.) hammered a bases-clearing double to left field, plating Fay, Crowley and Byrne to extend the Saint Anselm lead to five runs.
In the fifth inning with the bases loaded, Byrne struck again as she collected a bases-clearing double to left field for the second big inning for the Hawks offense. Bentley answered for their lone run of the game in the home half of the inning as three-straight Falcons singles preceded a sacrifice fly by first baseman Samantha Tierney to plate right fielder Shannon Connor for the run.
Byrne collected her fifth RBI of the game in the top of the sixth inning as a single to right field plated Hawks catcher Lauren Galavotti (Marion, Mass.) with two outs.
Hawks pitcher Tayla Trask (Lincoln, Maine) won her second-straight game, allowing only one earned run through four innings of play. Hurler Paige Cormier (Rochester, N.H.) entered the game in relief of Trask and did not allow a run across two innings of play. For the Falcons, Taitz collected her sixth loss of the year, allowing four earned runs through six innings of play.
In the final game of the doubleheader, Saint Anselm rebounded from a 3-0 deficit through three innings to collect a 7-4 win, their third-straight victory. An RBI triple by designated player Alyssa Wagner plated center fielder Jackie Gauthier who led off the game with a hit by pitch. Wagner later stole home plate to score the second Falcons run in the bottom half of the first inning. In the second, the Falcons converted their third run of the game after Wagner struck again with an RBI single to plate Tierney.
The Saint Anselm offense went to work in the middle innings, plating six runs across the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. In the fourth inning, the Hawks stole three bases as freshman pinch runner Kasey Moran (Medford, Mass.) stole both second and third base. On Moran's steal of third base, Gauthier crept home from third on the double steal prior to an RBI triple by Crowley to cut into the deficit. With Crowley on third, Fay lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to plate the Hawks right fielder to knot the score at three apiece.
The Hawks took the lead for good in the top half of the fifth inning as Bentley shortstop Stephanie Kasson's error followed a single by Scafidi. Her throwing error plated pinch runner Hayley Lombard (Coral Springs, Fla.) who pinch ran for catcher Noelle Lussier (Worcester, Mass.) with the go-ahead run. Scafidi later came around to score following a wild pitch by Bentley hurler Caitlin Betz.
Despite a sacrifice fly by Bentley in the bottom half of the same inning, the Hawks struck back with runs in both the sixth and seventh innings of the game for additional insurance. A leadoff single by Byrne, her fifth hit of the day, preceded a double by Fay to set up runners at second and third base for Story. The Hawks first baseman lofted a sacrifice fly to center field, plating Byrne with the sixth run of the day for Saint Anselm.
The Hawks final run of the afternoon came in the visiting half of the seventh inning as Boucher led off the inning with her seventh career home run to place Saint Anselm head by a 7-4 score.
Saint Anselm pitcher Shannon Dalton (Concord, Mass.) started the game but received a no-decision, pitching 2 2/3 innings and allowing three earned runs while striking out four Falcons batters. Hawks pitcher Alexis Bogdanovich (South Portland, Maine) received the victory in relief, allowing only one hit across 4 1/3 innings of work while striking out five batters.
Betz was saddled with the loss for Bentley, allowing five earned runs across in seven innings despite striking out eight Hawks batters.
NOTABLES: Third baseman Hannah Byrne becomes only the seventh Saint Anselm player to record five runs batted in across one game and the first since second baseman Kat Scafidi accomplished the feat against Saint Michael's last year on Apr. 21, 2011…With her first home run of the season in the seventh inning, shortstop Nicole Boucher moves into a tie for eighth place all-time in program history with seven career dingers…With Boucher's home run, the Hawks now have six different players with home runs this season…Saint Anselm has won three-straight games for the first time since opening the season 3-0 against their opponents in Florida.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Mar. 28 as they travel to Easton, Mass. to partake in a doubleheader against the Skyhawks of Stonehill College beginning at 3:00 p.m. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by joining the Hawks on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).
