MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College softball team continued to assert its dominance over the Northeast Division of the Northeast-10 Conference, taking down Assumption University in back-to-back games via scores of 3-0 and 8-2.

The Hawks, the 16th-ranked team in all of Division II by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Coaches' Poll, completed the sweep, improving to 9-1 on the season and remaining undefeated against Northeast-10 Conference opponents with a 6-0 record. The Greyhounds fall to 4-4 on the young season. The Hawks are back in action on Saturday, Apr. 10, hosting a four-game series against cross-town rival Southern New Hampshire with first pitch starting at 1 p.m.

Game one featured the Hawks shutting out the Greyhounds, 3-0, including senior Morgan Perry (Bethany, Conn.) holding the Assumption bats at bay, striking out 15 batters and only allowing three hits. Perry is now six strikeouts away from tying Lisa Petell '99 for second place on the all-time strikeout list. She needs just 40 to set the program record as she would eclipse the current leader, Andrea Messina '03, who logged 666.

The Hawks followed their opening victory with a solid offensive performance in gaem two, powered by a junior Bre Klaiber (Ironton, Ohio) grand slam in the fourth inning to propel the Hawks to the 8-2 victory over the Greyhounds. The two runs allowed snapped a five-game shutout streak for the Hawks.

GAME ONE – No. 16 Saint Anselm 3, Assumption 0 (Box Score)

In the first inning, the Hawks scored one run early and never looked back after senior Lauren Washburn (Carmichael, Calif.) had a sacrifice fly to bring sophomore Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.). Neither team would convert on any further scoring chances until the sixth inning.

Saint Anselm added two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth after junior Bailey Cain (Wellington, Fla.) reached on an error, allowing freshman Brianna Belisle (South Burlington, Vt.) to score. In the next at-bat, sophomore Jess Persechino (Torrington, Conn.) drove in the final Hawks run with a single up the middle, sending freshman Gracie O'Hara (Shrewsbury, Mass.) home. That marked Persechino's first hit of her collegiate career.

Six Hawks student-athletes recorded one hit each in the victory, along with Washburn, Cain, and Persechino each recording one run batted in.

Mia Patriacca threw the opening five and one-third innings, allowing six hits and three runs in her season-opening outing. Samantha Hardwick closed out the first game.

GAME TWO – No. 16 Saint Anselm 8, Assumption 2 (Box Score)

After falling in one game, the Greyhounds responded by recording the first run of the second game. With two outs in the top of the first, Corin Mahan drove in her teammate from third with a single to left field, with Alyssa Bialakis right behind, but Persechino gunned Bialakis down from left field at home to end the scoring threat.

The Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the second. After a lead-off single by Fitzpatrick, Cain followed suit and singled through the left side, bringing home Fitzpatrick to tie the game at one. O'Hara doubled later in the inning, advancing Cain to third - just a few pitches later, Cain scored off a passed ball to give the Hawks their first and final lead of the game. O'Hara recorded the first double of her career, leading the Hawks to victory.

After two scoreless innings, Klaiber opened up the advantage for the Hawks in the bottom of the fourth with a grand slam. Her first home run of the season gave the hosts a convincing 6-1 lead. Fitzpatrick padded the Hawks lead with a solo home run of her own to left field an inning later.

The Greyhounds narrowed the deficit in the sixth inning, adding one run to trail 7-2. Senior Erin Thompson (Newton, N.H.) later secured the win for the Hawks with an RBI single, bringing home senior Shannon Colson (Rochester, N.H.).

Sophomore McKenna Smith (Old Town, Maine) finished the game, striking out two of the final three batters in the seventh. Smith picked up her second win of the season after recording seven strikeouts and allowing two runs in the win.

Thompson, Fitzpatrick, and Cain led the team with two hits each in the second game. Klaiber finished the day with a six-game hitting streak, also posting her highest single-game RBI mark (4). Fitzpatrick also recorded a new season-high mark in hits in game two.