MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College softball team came away with two run-rule victories over Saint Michael's College on Tuesday, winning game one by an 8-0 margin in six innings before locking down a 13-5 win in a five-inning second game.
Saint Anselm improves to 16-11 overall on the year with a 9-3 record in Northeast-10 Conference play. The Purple Knights dip to 6-15 on the season with a 2-6 mark in league competition.
Junior Kylee Royer (Blackshear, Ga.) was a perfect five-for-five on the day, driving in two runs for Saint Anselm. She also made 15 errorless putouts in the field as the Hawks batted .458 as a team (22-for-48) in both games. Senior Bailey Cain (Wellington, Fla.) led the way with four runs batted in on the day.
Junior Kate Irwin (Milford, Mass.) swiped a career-high three bases in game one against the Purple Knights, who have lost 12 in a row to Saint Anselm and 18 of the last 19 games played. Irwin also had a two-run single in game one, setting a career-high mark with two runs batted in.
The Hawks return to action against Bentley at home on Wednesday in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
GAME ONE – Saint Anselm 8, Saint Michael's 0 (6 inn.)
Saint Anselm scored five runs in the top of the first inning, cruising to the 8-0 shutout victory with a strong first inning. Cain and sophomore Brianna Belisle (South Burlington, Vt.) had RBI singles up the middle before freshman Julia Howse (North Reading, Mass.) lined a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring the third run of the frame.
Irwin put an exclamation point on the inning, driving in two more runs in the bottom of the first by hooking a single to right field. Saint Anselm batted around before the inning came to an end with the game's 10th batter.
After four scoreless innings, the Hawks put the game away in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the sixth. With the bases loaded, Cain hit a two-run single up the middle to push the lead to seven. Following an intentional walk, a dropped fly ball in center field allowed the game-winning run to scamper across home plate.
Royer finished the game with a career-high three hits before going on to post two hits in as many at-bats in game two.
Sophomore Haile Hicks (Jefferson, N.H.) allowed just one hit for Saint Anselm, striking out five batters and throwing just 81 pitches.
GAME TWO – Saint Anselm 13, Saint Michael's 5 (5 inn.)
For the second consecutive game, the Hawks used a big first inning to set the tempo for the game. O'Hara, Cain and Royer each had run-producing hits for the Hawks, the latter two picking up doubles to create the 3-0 advantage just five batters into the bottom of the first inning.
Saint Michael's quickly tied the game and had the bases loaded in the top of the second, but freshman Sophia DiPippo (Cranston, R.I.) did well to limit the damage to just the three runs. With two outs, the Purple Knights hit two infield singles, one of those producing a run, and used a bases-loaded walk to cut the score to 3-2. An error by the Hawks in the field tied the game at three.
Just three Saint Anselm batters after the big inning, a two-run home run by freshman Ava Caputo (Waterford, N.Y.) put the Hawks on top for good. Later in the game, a solo shot by senior Bre Klaiber (Ironton, Ohio) to lead off the bottom of the third doubled up the Purple Knights, 6-3.
Saint Michael's stroked a deep home run to left field with two outs in the top of the fourth, trimming the Saint Anselm lead to two in the top of the fourth, but a four-run bottom of the inning for the Hawks effectively ended the game.
In that explosive inning, the Hawks had an RBI single by Royer before Cain came around to score on a passed ball. A two-run single by freshman Stephanie Tardugno (Methuen, Mass.) extended the lead to 10-4 with just one out in the inning.
After an RBI single by Saint Michael's made it a 10-5 score in the top of the fifth, the Hawks walked off with the victory for the second consecutive game as a three-run home run by O'Hara created the eight-run advantage, ending the game in dramatic fashion.
O'Hara finished game two with five runs batted in, a single-game personal best for the sophomore, while matching her previous career-high mark with three hits.
DiPippo earned the win, conceding three earned runs in four innings of work with a career-high three strikeouts. Junior Ava Vincequere (Shrewsbury, Mass.) pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and fanning one batter.
