WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Saint Anselm College softball team split a pair of games to open its second Florida trip of the 2022 season.
The Hawks came away with a 3-1 victory over Saint Thomas Aquinas to open the day before falling to Dominican (N.Y.) by an 8-4 margin. The Hawks exit the two games with a record of 2-5 overall.
Saint Anselm and Saint Thomas Aquinas played to a 0-0 deadlock through five complete innings before the Hawks broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three runs and eventually taking the game by a 3-1 margin.
Against Dominican (N.Y.), the Hawks trailed by a 1-0 margin early in the game and rallied to capture a 2-1 advantage in the top of the third inning. The Chargers plated seven runs in the next two innings, however, eventually securing an 8-4 victory over the Hawks.
Senior Bailey Cain (Wellington, Fla.) appeared in her 100th career game, reaching that milestone against Dominican (N.Y.). Junior Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.) also earned her 100th career start, achieving that in the opener against the Spartans.
Saint Anselm enjoys a day off on Monday before returning to action against Indianapolis and Shepherd in a doubleheader starting at 10 a.m.
GAME ONE – Saint Anselm 3, Saint Thomas Aquinas 1
Saint Anselm had left four runners on base, but fortunately for the Hawks, Saint Thomas Aquinas was also unable to score a run through the game's first five-and-a-half innings. With one out in the bottom of the sixth inning, sophomore Gracie O'Hara (Shrewsbury, Mass.) got things started with a double to left field.
Senior Bre Klaiber (Ironton, Ohio), making her season debut in the game, hit a hard liner that caromed off the Spartans pitcher in the circle for a base hit. With two runners on, Cain drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single to right field.
The big blow in the inning came off the bat of junior Kylee Royer (Blackshear, Ga.). She stroked a two-run double down the left field line to push the Hawks ahead by a 3-0 margin. In the top of the seventh, the Spartans scored their lone run of the game with a home run, but the Hawks were able to retire two of the next three batters to earn the victory.
Sophomore Haile Hicks (Jefferson, N.H.) pitched well in the circle, limiting Saint Thomas Aquinas to just one earned run through seven innings of work. She gave up seven hits, but worked around those baserunners and finished with a career-high six strikeouts.
Abbie Landrum gave up three runs for Saint Thomas Aquinas and she also contributed a game-high three hits in the losing effort.
GAME TWO – Dominican (N.Y.) 8, Saint Anselm 4
A squeeze bunt in the bottom of the first inning put the Chargers on the board as two hits in the stanza ultimately hurt the Hawks.
Saint Anselm used a two-RBI single by Cain in the top of the third inning to take a brief 2-1 advantage. Junior Kate Irwin (Milford, Mass.) led off the inning with a bunt single and later stole second base. Two walks followed, placing runners at each base for Cain's big hit.
Dominican responded with a four-run frame in the next half inning. A big two-run home run pushed the Chargers ahead and two additional runs scored with RBI singles, creating a 5-2 lead.
The Chargers tacked on three more runs in their half of the fourth inning with a two-RBI double and an RBI single.
The final two runs of the game were scored by Saint Anselm as a three-hit inning produced the final score of 8-4. Fitzpatrick and O'Hara each logged run-producing singles.
The tandem of freshman Sophia DiPippo (Cranston, R.I.) and junior Ava Vincequere (Shrewsbury, Mass.) combined to allow six earned runs in six innings of work. Samantha Carbonara came on in relief for Dominican and earned the victory, striking out five batters in four-and-a-third innings.
Four Chargers batters had two hits and Giovanna Salcido had three runs batted in.
