MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm softball team responded from a 14-3 defeat in the first game with a gritty 5-3 win over 18th-ranked Southern New Hampshire Sunday afternoon in the Hawks' home opening series at South Athletic Fields.
The split moves the Hawks to 11-3 overall and 3-1 in the Northeast-10 Conference Northeast division, while Southern New Hampshire moved to 16-5 overall and 5-2 in divisional play.
SNHU used a seven-run third inning off five hits and a costly Saint Anselm fielding error to draw first blood in the series opener. Penmen designated player Sarah Lavallee launched a grand slam in the inning—all four runs of which were unearned.
Saint Anselm responded with a bit of an answer in the home half of the third, cutting the lead to 7-3. Freshman Shannon McLaughlin (Tewksbury, Mass.), who went 3-for-4 at the plate on the afternoon, led things off in the bottom of the third with a single up the middle and junior Emily Crannell (Wilmington, Mass.) advanced her to second with a hot one through the left side. Freshman Amanda Bickford (Salem, N.H.) then pushed the first run across for the Hawks with another drive over second base, and junior Pattie Turner's (Warwick, R.I.) scored Crannell from third with the fourth straight single to lead off the inning. Junior Julie LeClair (Taunton, Mass.) recorded a sacrifice fly to left to score Bickford, but Southern N.H. senior hurler Ali Maloof shut down the Hawks the rest of the way.
Senior Tayla Trask (Lincoln, Maine) suffered her first defeat of the season, recording three strikeouts and just two earned runs in three innings pitched. Sophomore Sam Hennequin (Auburn, N.H.) came on in relief for the Hawks in the fourth, recording one strikeout in two innings pitched. In the other dugout, Maloof struck out five and all three runs given up were earned.
Saint Anselm used the short break between games to regroup and came out with some fresh bats and tallied three hits over the first two innings. However, it was the Penmen who pushed a run across in the top of the third as three straight singles loaded the bases with one out. Senior Hannah Byrne (Lynn, Mass.) made a great play to get the next batter on a swinging bunt that dribbled up the third baseline, but the first run scored. An ensuing throwing error allowed two more unearned runs to cross the plate as the visitors took a 3-0 lead after two and a half.
Much like game one, the Hawks responded in hits home half with a Turner double to right. LeClair then pushed a single through the left side and a Byrne walk loaded the bases. Freshman Hannah Paitchel (Pelham, N.H.) sent a hot one that the SNHU second baseman couldn't handle as Turner and LeClair both scored. Senior Kasey Moran (Medford, Mass.) then scored Byrne from third with a shot to center to tie the game at 3-3. With two outs, Crannell reached on a throwing error by the Penmen shortstop as Paitchel and Moran crossed the plate to hand the Hawks a 5-3 lead.
From there, it was senior hurler Paige Cormier (Rochester, N.H.) who settled in and held the Southern N.H. offense hitless over the final four innings to salvage the series split. Cormier tallied one strikeout and just one earned run on five hits in a complete game of work, improving to 4-1 on the year in the circle.
The Hawks will return to action Monday, finishing up the third of a three-game series against Bentley University. Saint Anselm took two from the Falcons just this past Saturday via 4-0 and 6-3 wins, the latter in a thrilling 9-inning battle. Barring any weather-related disturbances, the Hawks will have a busy week with seven games scheduled over the next four days.
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