MANCHESTER, N.H. – For the second straight afternoon, the Saint Anselm College softball team salvaged a double-header split against Assumption College at South Athletic Field, falling in the first game 8-3 before eking out a 6-5 victory in the finale.
The loss, which counts as in-division game, drops Saint Anselm to 18-7 overall and 9-5 in Northeast-10 Conference play, while Assumption improves to 18-13 overall and 9-8 in the league. Most importantly, the Hawks fall 2.5 games behind division-leading Southern New Hampshire while clinging a slim one-game lead over Stonehill in the NE-10 Northeast division race. Assumption owns a half-game buffer for fourth place in the division behind the Skyhawks and fifth-place Merrimack.
Freshman Megan Murrell (Scarborough, Maine) continued her outstanding weekend Sunday afternoon, going 4-for-7 at the plate with two doubles, a homerun, two runs scored and four RBI. Including Saturday's twinbill, she recorded five doubles, a round-tripper and five RBI against the Greyhounds.
The Hawks got off to a strong start in game one Sunday with freshman Amanda Bickford (Salem, N.H.) pelting the first pitch of the game off the centerfield fence for a leadoff double. Two pitches later, junior Emily Crannell (Wilmington, Mass.) made it 1-0 Hawks with a driven single up the middle.
That score would hold until the fourth inning with the Greyhounds would push an unearned run across after a leadoff double to left. However, Murrell single-handedly retook the lead with a blast over the right field fence with a leadoff homerun to take a 2-1 lead after four.
Assumption rallied for two runs in the top of the sixth, manufacturing a lead by taking advantage of some mental mistakes on the defense. A sacrifice fly tied the game, then a single to center handed the 'Hounds their first lead of the afternoon.
The Hawks did some manufacturing of their own in the bottom half of the sixth, as a clutch single up the middle by freshman Hannah Paitchel (Pelham, N.H.) would score pinch runner Julie LeClair (Taunton, Mass.) from second.
Though the Assumption bats had awoken as it erupted for a five-run inning that included four hits, a two-RBI double and a two-run homer to left as the Greyhounds surged to the opening game victory and clinched the season series.
The teams squared off in game two in a non-conference matchup, with both teams combining for 25 hits. Murrell led the Hawks going 3-for-4 in the second game alone, while junior Pattie Turner (Warwick, R.I.) and Bickford each added a pair of hits in the game. Turner scored Murrell in the bottom of the first inning with a double sent to the warning track in left center.
Senior hurler Paige Cormier (Rochester, N.H.) ended up with the split decisions, taking the loss in relief in game one before picking up the win in game two. Senior Tayla Trask (Lincoln, Maine) started game one but left with a tie score heading into the sixth, recording five strikeouts and two earned runs. Sophomore Sam Hennequin (Auburn, N.H.) picked up her first career save in game two, picking up a strikeout in the seventh inning.
Sunday was also Senior Day for the five-member class of 2015, as Cormier, Trask, Kasey Moran (Medford, Mass.), Hayley Leclaire (Hudson Falls, N.Y.) and Hannah Byrne (Lynn, Mass.) were all recognized prior to the games.
Saint Anselm will continue on with a feverish pace, entering the final week of the regular season with seven more games on the docket. The Hawks will host Stonehill Monday and finish off their home slate Tuesday with a split double-header against Franklin Pierce and Saint Michael's, then battle Southern New Hampshire Thursday before closing with a weekend series at Merrimack.
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