MANCHESTER, N.H. – Arika Brochu turned in another strong performance on the mound for the Saint Anselm College softball team in a 4-1 win in game two, as the Hawks earned a split with Merrimack after dropping the opener 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at South Athletic Fields.
Merrimack 3, Saint Anselm 1 | Box
Haley Currie held Saint Anselm (9-15, 5-7 NE-10) to one run on five hits in a complete game and drove in two runs for Merrimack (9-19, 3-7 NE-10) in the opener.
After four scoreless innings, Currie doubled in Sammy Waskowitz with two outs in the top of the fifth to give the Warriors the lead. Merrimack doubled its lead with another two-out hit in the top of the sixth, as pinch hitter Brittany Razo dropped a double down the left-field line to score Tamarra Crowe and make it 2-0.
The Warriors started the top of the seventh with a double by Waskowitz and a bunt single by Mariah Tenney, leaving runners on the corners with nobody out. Currie, the next batter, dropped down a sacrifice bunt, scoring Waskowitz, as Saint Anselm got two outs on the play.
With the Hawks needing three runs to force extra innings, Karoline Leavitt led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run to center for her third homer of the season. However, Currie regrouped and retired the final three batters. Leavitt had two of Saint Anselm's five hits in the game.
Both teams had chances to score in the early stages. Saint Anselm stranded runners on first and third in the bottom of the first and Merrimack loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second, but Sam Hennequin escaped the jam with a foul out and a pop up.
Hennequin scattered 10 hits over seven innings, allowing three runs with two walks and three strikeouts. Currie fanned four with just one walk for the Warriors to move to 4-7 on the season.
Saint Anselm 4, Merrimack 1 | Box
Brochu allowed one run on four hits in a complete game and Saint Anselm took advantage of four Merrimack errors to take game two.
The Hawks capitalized on three Merrimack miscues in the bottom of the first to score three times. After a pair of errors left runners on first and second with one out, Pattie Turner hit a single in the hole at shortstop and Amanda Bickford came around to score as the left fielder made an errant throw on the play.
Julie LeClair followed with a single to center to score Leavitt from third and make it 2-0. Shannon McLaughlin, the next batter, laid down a sacrifice bunt on a squeeze play to plate Turner.
The score remained 3-0 until Saint Anselm tacked a run on in the fourth. Bickford singled to score Leiandra Wilson, who opened the inning with a booming double to center, after the left fielder mishandled Bickford's single.
Brochu allowed just three hits through the first six innings but Merrimack got one back in the seventh. After pinch hitter Amanda Kurkul doubled to leave runners on second and third with one away, Waskowitz drove a ball into the left-center field gap that Bickford tracked down to allow just one run.
Brochu got Razo for the final out on a grounder to third to even her record at 6-6. The freshman has allowed just seven earned runs over 38.2 innings in her last seven appearances for an ERA of 1.63 over the stretch.
Courtney Zambello allowed four unearned runs in six innings for Merrimack, while walking one and striking out five. She fell to 2-3 with the hard-luck loss.
The two teams play the second of back-to-back doubleheaders on Sunday, April 10 at South Athletic Fields. First pitch is at noon and game two will be a non-conference contest.
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