Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
CLERMONT, Fla. – Freshman pitcher Erika Brochu tossed nine innings of three-hit ball over two games as the Saint Anselm College softball team recorded a 10-4 win over Georgian Court and blanked Notre Dame College 2-0 on Tuesday.
Saint Anselm (3-3) trailed Georgian Court (0-5) 4-1 after two and a half innings but scored nine runs over its next three at bats to build a comfortable lead. The 10 runs and 13 hits were both season-highs for the Hawks.
Down 4-1, Saint Anselm got a two-out RBI singles from Megan Murrell in the bottom of the third and a clutch two-out triple to right center off the bat of Julie LeClair in the home half of the fourth to tie the game at 4-4. LeClair's line-drive two-bagger came after a lengthy battle with Lions' starter Kelly Hardiman.
With the game tied at 4-4, the Hawks exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fifth and Brochu did the rest. Saint Anselm had five hits in the frame, scoring on an error, an infield hit by Amanda Bickford, a bases loaded walk to Karoline Leavitt and a two-run single up the middle by Michaela Criscione.
Brochu picked up the win with four innings of one-hit relief with no walks and no strikeouts. Sam Hennequin worked the first three innings.
Bickford as 2-for-5 with a run and drove in three runs, while LeClair and Criscione each had two hits and two RBI. Emily Crannell went 3-for-4 with a run out of the nine hole.
Brochu picked up where she left off in the second game, holding Notre Dame (Ohio) (2-5) to two hits in five shutout innings. The freshman walked three batters and struck out one before giving way to Hennequin, who earned the save with two scoreless innings.
After giving up a leadoff single in the bottom of the first, Brochu retired seven in a row. The Falcons put runners on first and second with one out in the third but Brochu got out of the inning by inducing a double play. The freshman worked around two walks in the fifth and Hennequin stranded runners at first and second in the seventh to end the game.
Saint Anselm opened the scoring in the second inning on a two-out RBI double by Jordan O'Connor to left, scoring Shannon McLaughlin from first, after the freshman had balls ruled just foul down both lines.
The Hawks added an insurance run in the top of the seventh on another two-out hit by O'Connor. This time, the freshman drilled a single to right to score pinch runner Karoline Leavitt.
Saint Anselm is off on Wednesday before facing Felician and St. Cloud State at 9 and 11 a.m. at Hancock Park.
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