EASTON, Mass. – Pattie Turner homered in both games as the Saint Anselm College softball team split a doubleheader with Stonehill, losing game one 7-2 and winning game two 6-5, on Saturday afternoon at Gartland Field.
Stonehill 7, Saint Anselm 2 | Box
Stonehill (9-10, 5-2 NE-10) starter Megan Ruonavaara held Saint Anselm (5-12, 1-4 NE-10) to three hits after the Skyhawks staked her to an early lead in game one. Ruonavaara evened her record at 3-3 this season by allowing two runs on three hits with one walk and five strikeouts in a complete game.
Ruonovaara allowed just one hit over the first six innings but the Hawks hit a pair of solo home runs in the seventh to erase the shutout. Turner led off the frame with a solo shot and Megan Murrell added one of her own with two outs.
Stonehill jumped out to an early lead with four first-inning runs on five hits. Michelle Carbone, the third batter of the game, opened the scoring with a two-run home run and Alison Sumski knocked a two-run triple to right with two outs.
Padilla led off the second with a solo home run and the Skyhawks added an unearned run to make it 6-0 after two. The hosts plated an unearned run in the third to take a 7-0 advantage before the Hawks shut the Skyhawks down in their final three at bats.
Arika Brochu allowed just the two unearned runs in five innings of relief of Sam Hennequin. The freshman struck out a career-high seven batters and allowed four hits and one walk.
Saint Anselm 6, Stonehill 5 | Box
Saint Anselm matched its season-high with 13 hits to take game two 6-5. Turner led the way by going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in the Hawks' first conference win of the season.
Brochu and Sarah Ropiak held the opposing offenses scoreless over the first four innings with Brochu only allowing two hits through four. The Hawks started the fifth with a double by Leindra Wilson and a single by Shannon McLaughlin to score the game's first run.
Later in the inning, Turner plated McLaughlin and Amanda Bickford with a two-out single to give the Hawks a 3-0 lead. However, the Skyhawks responded with two runs on four hits in the bottom of the inning to get within a run.
Saint Anselm came right back with two runs of its own in the top of the sixth. McLaughlin and Jordan O'Connor had RBI singles in a four-hit inning for the Hawks.
Stonehill took advantage of two errors in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 5-5 with three runs. Whaley drove in two with a one-out double and the Skyhawks added a run on an error.
Turner led off the top of the seventh with her second home run of the day and her team-high fourth of the season for the game-winning run. Henenquin gave up a leadoff single in the bottom of the frame but retired the next three batters to strand the tying run at second.
In addition to Turner's three-hit game, Bickford, Julie LeClair and McLaughlin each had a pair of hits. Hennequin earned her second win of the season with 1.2 scoreless innings after Brochu worked the first 5.1 innings and allowed five runs (two earned).
The two teams play once more on Monday, March 28 at 2 p.m. at Gartland Field.
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