WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Saint Anselm College softball team picked up a convincing 7-0 victory over Shepherd on Tuesday, upping the team's record to 3-6 after a loss to No. 4-ranked Indianapolis earlier in the day.
As a team, the Hawks pounded out 14 hits, led by three hits apiece for senior Bailey Cain (Wellington, Fla.) and freshman Ava Caputo (Waterford, N.Y.). The Saint Anselm pitching staff combined to allow just eight hits across the two games, but a grand slam drove in four runs in game one to send the Hawks to a 5-1 defeat.
Freshman Haile Hicks (Jefferson, N.H.) had the top performance of the day for Saint Anselm, firing seven clean innings while carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Shepherd. She ended the day with a career-high eight strikeouts, walking just two batters and allowing only a bloop single to left field to open the stanza.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Mar. 16 for back-to-back games against Purdue Northwest and West Chester, a team that Saint Anselm defeated in game one of the NCAA Division II National Championships in 2021.
GAME ONE – No. 4 Indianapolis 5, Saint Anselm 1
Both teams pitched four scoreless innings in a game that started bright and early at 8:55 a.m. It was the top of the fifth inning that ended up costing the Hawks as with the bases loaded and two outs, Indianapolis hammered a grand slam that put Saint Anselm in a 4-0 hole.
The Greyhounds struck once again in the top of the sixth inning, making it a 5-0 game following an RBI double with two outs. Indianapolis was helped to the victory by starting pitcher Kenzee Smith, the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Freshman of the Year, who moved to 10-0 on the year with a 14-strikeout performance against the Hawks.
The lone run of the game for Saint Anselm came in the bottom of the sixth inning. Cain picked up an infield single that plated junior Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.) thanks to a throwing error by the third baseman for the Greyhounds.
Cain finished the day with two hits in as many at-bats for the Hawks, who saw freshman Sophia DiPippo (Cranston, R.I.) give up five earned runs and seven hits across six innings of work. Junior Ava Vincequere (Shrewsbury, Mass.) pitched a scoreless top of the seventh inning, striking out one batter.
GAME TWO – Saint Anselm 7, Shepherd 0
An RBI single by Cain put the Hawks up by a 1-0 margin in the top of the first inning. Saint Anselm threatened to put up more runs, but the Rams were able to escape the bases-loaded jam with a fly ball to right field that ended the inning.
Saint Anselm scored two more runs in the top of the third as a lead-off walk by Cain came around to score on a Caputo single. The freshman sped around the bases and scored on the same play, taking advantage of a throw into center field by the catcher who tried to record an out of Cain at the plate.
Caputo picked up another RBI in the top of the fifth inning, beating out an infield single that drove in junior Kylee Royer (Blackshear, Ga.), who reached base with a two-out walk. Three more Saint Anselm runs scored with three consecutive two-out RBI singles by freshman Julia Howse (North Reading, Mass.), junior Kate Irwin (Milford, Mass.) and sophomore Gracie O'Hara (Shrewsbury, Mass.).
For Howse, her single to right field is the first base hit of her career and Caputo finished the game with three hits, a career-high mark.
The first hit for Shepherd came in the top of the seventh inning, cleanly landing in the outfield between the shortstop and left fielder. Hicks was able to recover from the lost no-hitter in impressive fashion as she fanned the side in order to give her team the seven-run shutout victory.
The two Shepherd pitchers combined to give up 11 hits and six earned runs, walking five batters.
