RINDGE, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College softball team split Tuesday's doubleheader with Franklin Pierce University, winning by an 11-1 margin in five innings to open the day before falling by a 2-1 score in the finale.
The Hawks, ranked 14th in NCAA Division II, exit play with a 16-4 record and a 13-3 mark against Northeast-10 Conference opponents. Franklin Pierce, who also split Sunday's doubleheader with Saint Anselm, moves to 10-6 overall and to 9-5 against league foes.
Saint Anselm exploded for 11 runs in the opener, never looking back on the way to a 10-run victory that was shortened to five innings via run rule. The Hawks pounded out 15 hits in game one, but were stymied in the second game, logging just three hits and scoring their lone run on a defensive miscue.
Senior Shannon Colson (Rochester, N.H.) became Saint Anselm's all-time leader in games played on Tuesday, playing in her 179th and 180th career games. Former teammate Jordan O'Connor '20 was the previous record-holder, playing in 178 games from 2016-19. Colson also moved to second place all-time with 186 career hits, passing Nicole Boucher '14 who produced 185 in her career.
Hawks pitchers held up their end of the bargain, allowing just one earned run on the afternoon across 11 innings of work. Senior Morgan Perry (Bethany, Conn.) moved to 10-0 on the season, striking out six batters in three innings before yielding to classmate Courtney Fisher (Taunton, Mass.), who threw two innings of relief while striking out four.
Perry also became the program's all-time leader in innings pitched, throwing 630 innings since joining the team as a freshman in 2017. Andrea Messina '03 pitched just north of 627 innings in her Saint Anselm career that spanned from 2000-03.
Sophomore McKenna Smith (Old Town, Maine) pitched well in the second game, striking out six across as many innings of work. On the day, the Hawks combined to strike out 16 Ravens and gave up only nine hits on the day.
GAME ONE – Saint Anselm 11, Franklin Pierce 1 (5)
The Hawks scored four runs in the first inning, using five hits while taking advantage of two defensive miscues by Franklin Pierce. There consecutive singles manufactured a run as senior Shannon Colson (Rochester, N.H.), sophomore Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.) and junior Bre Klaiber (Ironton, Ohio) each singled to the outfield, putting the visitors up 1-0.
A single through the left side by Kat Stackrow (Wynantskill, N.Y.) drove in another run before freshman Gracie O'Hara (Shrewsbury, Mass.) lined out to left, producing a sacrifice fly for the third run of the stanza. Junior Bailey Cain (Wellington, Fla.) reached first on a fielding error, allowing Stackrow to score from third base to cap the huge inning for the Hawks.
Saint Anselm hung a "six" on the second-inning scoreboard as an RBI double by Klaiber preceded another left-side single by Stackrow drove in runs. O'Hara doubled down the left-field line, driving in two more, before senior Abbie Murrell (Scarborough, Maine) homered to left field, upping the Saint Anselm lead to 10-0.
Yet another RBI single for Stackrow in the top of the third inning upped the lead to 11-0. The Hawks also loaded the bases in that inning, but Franklin Pierce was able to escape further trouble by getting a strikeout to conclude the inning.
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, Franklin Pierce posted a run after a throwing error by the Hawks scored a baserunner from third base. The Ravens racked up only three hits in game one, with Gina Hinckley collecting the lone extra-base hit for the home team.
Perry and Fisher combined to strike out 10 batters in the first game, issuing just two walks. No earned runs were allowed for the Hawks. Franklin Pierce used a trio of pitchers that allowed 15 hits, 11 runs and 10 earned runs.
GAME TWO – Franklin Pierce 2, Saint Anselm 1
Racking up 15 hits in game one, the Hawks tallied their first hit in the top of the fourth inning as Franklin Pierce's Cyrena Zemaitis mystified the Saint Anselm lineup. Klaiber generated immediate offense as the first hit of the game for the Hawks was a double down the line, but Zemaitis escaped danger. Klaiber extended her team-high hitting streak to five games with the extra-base hit.
Franklin Pierce pushed across a run in the bottom of the second as a leadoff hit-by-pitch proved costly. An RBI double by Ashley Cangiano drove in the runner and the Ravens tacked on yet another run in the bottom of the fourth. After a Hawks passed ball put a runner on third, Ashley Rosario reached on a run-producing fielder's choice groundout to create a 2-0 lead for Franklin Pierce.
Saint Anselm threatened in the top of the seventh as Fitzpatrick led off the frame with a double to right-center field. Klaiber reached base yet again, following Fitzpatrick by reaching on a fielding error – the miscue allowed a run to score, but the Ravens recorded three quick outs to secure the victory.
Zemaitis finished the game with just three hits allowed, striking out four. Smith drew the loss, despite allowing just one earned run in the game.
