CLERMONT, Fla. – Junior Julie LeClair (Taunton, Mass.) knocked out a pair of homeruns and junior Pattie Turner (Warwick, R.I.) and freshman Shannon McLaughlin (Tewksbury, Mass.) each had a round-tripper of their own as the Saint Anselm softball team kept up its strong start at the PFX Athletics Spring Games by splitting its Friday morning slate. The Hawks dropped the opener in a shortened 12-2 first game before responding with an 8-2 statement win over Gannon in their second game.
The 1-1 record on its penultimate day at the Spring Games moves Saint Anselm to 6-2 overall while Ashland finished the day with a 9-1 record and Gannon fell to 6-4 overall.
It was the perfect storm for Ashland in the opening game as they took advantage of nearly every error made in the game. Statistically, the Hawks recorded five defensive errors that led to seven unearned runs—all coming in an 8-run third inning for the Eagles.
Despite the lopsided final score, Saint Anselm did have a few bright spots in the opener against Ashland. In the home half of the third inning, freshman Emily Barrett (Plaistow, N.H.) produced the Hawks' first run on a sacrifice fly to center that scored LeClair, cutting the lead in half at the time. Turner launched her first season homer in the bottom of the fourth inning to straight away centerfield, and sophomore hurler Katie Casey (Braintree, Mass.) picked up a strikeout and a putout for a solid inning of work in her first action in a Saint Anselm uniform.
Eagle hurler Brittany Flanigan picked up her fourth win of the year allowing just three hits and two earned runs. Sophomore Sam Hennequin (Auburn, N.H.) would take the loss for the Hawks, giving up two earned runs in two innings pitched.
The Hawks needed a short memory after the stinging loss and successfully refocused their efforts on Gannon. The bats erupted for four extra-base hits and the Hawks keyed in on Golden Knight errors in a mirror image to the first game of the day.
LeClair went 2-for-4 for the game while jacking two home runs and three RBI while McLaughlin also went 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and two RBI.
After the Hawks took a lead in the second after LeClair's blast, they threatened again in the third winning with bases loaded and one out. Yet a strikeout and flyout would keep the game at a two-run deficit for Gannon.
Saint Anselm did, however, manufacture a run in the top of the fifth, as Byrne bunted home a streaking freshman Amanda Bickford (Salem, N.H.) to increase the lead to 3-0. The Golden Knights responded with a leadoff single that would end up scoring Gannon's first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth.
LeClair slammed the door shut with her second homerun of the game in the leadoff position of the sixth, kicking off a three-run inning in which the Hawks capitalized on three Gannon errors. Gannon added a homerun for itself in the bottom of the sixth but McLaughlin's two-run shot over the fence in left center sealed the Hawks' sixth win of the year.
Senior pitcher Tayla Trask (Lincoln, Maine) improved to 4-0 on the season, tallying six strikeouts and while issuing just one walk and two earned runs.
Saint Anselm will close out its 10-game slate at the PFX Athletics Spring Games Saturday morning. The Hawks will open the day with a rematch against Gannon University at 9 a.m., then battle in-region rival Mercy College at 11 a.m. Both matchups Saturday will take place back at the National Training Center facility in Clermont.
The Spring Games, which run seven days a week for five straight weeks, are the dream of Dr. Dot Richardson, an Olympic gold medalist for fastpitch softball and native of Orlando. This year's games feature 310 teams from across the nation.
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