PREVIEW: Softball hosts Saint Michael's, Bentley on Tuesday, Wednesday

4/12/2022 12:00:00 PM

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College softball team will play four games in 24 hours starting on Tuesday, Apr. 12.

In total, the Hawks will have played eight games in a row at the South Athletic Fields – Saint Anselm hosts Saint Michael's on Tuesday, Apr. 12 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. before welcoming Bentley to the Hilltop on Wednesday, Apr. 13 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. as well.

Saint Anselm owns a 14-11 overall record alongside a 7-3 mark in Northeast-10 Conference play. Last time out, Southern New Hampshire snapped a modest seven-game winning streak for the Hawks with a 1-0 victory at the South Athletic Fields.

Saint Michael's owns a 6-13 mark entering the game and has won two of its first six games in conference action this season. The team earned back-to-back victories over Southern Connecticut State at home on Saturday, Apr. 12 and has lost three straight games entering play on Tuesday.

Prior to Bentley's two game series against American International on Tuesday, the Falcons have compiled an 11-11 overall record but have lost five consecutive games in NE10 play to fall to 1-5 versus the league.

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM

With the six-run explosion in the opener and a narrow 1-0 defeat in the second game, Saint Anselm has outscored Southern New Hampshire by a dominant 25-3 margin in the last five games. In the two games on Sunday against the Penmen, the Hawks pounded out 13 hits and limited Southern New Hampshire to just one unearned run on the day.
Senior Bre Klaiber (Ironton, Ohio) stroked a two-run home run in the opener against Southern New Hampshire, giving her 200 career hits between her two-season career at LIU Post and the past three years on the Hilltop.
At Saint Anselm, she has logged 80 hits in 221 at-bats (.362) and in 200 career games across five seasons, Klaiber is batting .340 (200-for-589) with 22 home runs and 128 runs batted in. Her 14 home runs hit while wearing a Saint Anselm uniform ranks seventh all-time.
Among active NCAA Division II student-athletes, Klaiber is ninth in the nation with 89 walks and her 200 hits place her as one of 28 student-athletes with at least that amount.
Sophomore Haile Hicks (Jefferson, N.H.) is in the midst of an outstanding season for Saint Anselm, racking up an NE10-leading 12 victories in the circle while ranking second in walks per game (0.6), complete games (11), and games started (14). Her 1.44 earned-run average is fourth in the NE10.
Senior Bailey Cain (Wellington, Fla.) is drawing 0.6 walks per contest, ranking second in the NE10. She leads the team with a .338 batting average, collecting 22 hits in 65 at-bats.
Sophomore Gracie O'Hara (Shrewsbury, Mass.) leads the Hawks with seven multiple-hit games in 2022 and is batting .303 on the year (20-for-66).

SCOUTING SAINT MICHAEL'S

Saint Michael's leads the NE10 with 20 home runs, averaging 1.05 per game to rank 25th nationally in that metric. The team has also turned eight double plays on defense, tying Southern New Hampshire for the league lead.
Freshman Jenna Devens leads the way for Saint Michael's with a .429 batting average, collecting 27 hits in 63 at-bats while driving in 14 runs. Three others join Devens by batting .300 or higher.
Devens also has pitched in six games for the Purple Knights, producing a 6.14 earned-run average.
Meghan Connor and Marli Welter, both sophomores, have pounded four home runs to equal Devens for the team lead.
Jackie Cherry, a junior, has appeared in 15 games with 11 starts alongside a 5-7 overall record. She owns a 4.10 earned run average, giving up 40 earned runs in 68.1 innings – she has struck out 28 batters and walked 31.

SCOUTING BENTLEY

Entering Tuesday's games against American International, Bentley is led by freshman outfielder Jordan Krause and her .429 batting average, rapping 30 hits in 70 at-bats with 10 of those hits going for extra bases.
Kaileen Cain, a graduate student, is batting .339 with 11 of her 19 hits on the year going for extra bases – she has exactly five hits and five home runs coming into Tuesday's NE10 games against American International.
Senior Elise Pereira has pitched in 31 games, striking out 48 batters in 65.1 innings for a 2.68 earned-run average. Freshman Dahlia Fink has seen action in nine games in the circle, posting a 5.20 earned-run average with 14 strikeouts in 32.1 innings of game play.

ALL-TIME vs. SAINT MICHAEL'S

Saint Anselm is 64-8 in the all-time series against Saint Michael's that dates back to Apr. 21, 1990.
The Hawks won all but one of the first 30 games between the two programs.
Saint Anselm has won 17 of the last 18 games played. Removing the seven runs from an 11-7 victory on Apr. 21, 2015, the Purple Knights have scored just 13 runs in the other 17 games combined.
Saint Anselm has won 11 in a row over Saint Michael's.

ALL-TIME vs. BENTLEY

Saint Anselm enjoys a 60-29 overall record against the Falcons in team history. The first game against Bentley will be the 90th contest between the two teams, the most of any opponent for Saint Anselm.
The Falcons overwhelmed the Hawks in the first 19 meetings starting on Apr. 23, 1980, winning 16 of those match-ups.
Since Apr. 7, 1991, Bentley has won just 14 of the 71 games against Saint Anselm.
The Hawks enjoy an active winning streak of 10 games against Bentley – Saint Anselm has won the last five games via shutout, conceding just three runs total in the last nine games.

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