PREVIEW: Softball heads to Rindge for NE10 twinbill at Franklin Pierce

4/20/2022 12:15:00 PM

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College softball team heads to Franklin Pierce University on Wednesday, Apr. 20 for a key Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader with the Ravens starting at 3 p.m.

Saint Anselm brings a 19-12 overall record into play alongside a 12-4 mark versus NE10 programs. The Hawks had a modest five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, falling to Stonehill in the final game of a twinbill at the South Athletic Fields.

Franklin Pierce has racked up a 22-4 record this season and is in its first campaign playing on a recently-constructed artificial turf playing surface. The Ravens built a strong non-league record prior to their return to NCAA Division II play, producing an 8-0 record in Florida.

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM

The Hawks have lost just 10 games in regular-season NE10 play since the middle of the 2018 season and all but two of those defeats have come by exactly one run – those two losses were by exactly two runs.
Saint Anselm is tied with Assumption for the lead with 10 home runs in NE10 play. The Hawks are second with a 1.77 earned-run average against NE10 opponents across 16 games – Adelphi leads the way with a 0.98 ERA in 18 games.
Saint Anselm hit .340 as a team against the Skyhawks, rapping 16 hits in 47 at-bats, while Stonehill mustered just five hits on the day and secured the split. Sophomore Gracie O'Hara (Shrewsbury, Mass.) produced four hits in seven at-bats to lead the way for Saint Anselm.
Junior Kate Irwin (Milford, Mass.) is in the midst of a team-leading six-game hitting streak, posting eight hits in 15 at-bats (.533) since game one of the doubleheader against Saint Michael's on Apr. 12.
Senior Bailey Cain (Wellington, Fla.) has reached base in seven consecutive games, just one shy of her season-long streak of eight games earlier this season. She leads the team with a .359 batting average, collecting 28 hits in 78 at-bats with 22 runs driven in.
Sophomore Haile Hicks (Jefferson, N.H.) leads the NE10 with 15 victories in the circle for Saint Anselm. She has posted a 1.30 earned-run average this season, ranking third in the NE10 and 23rd nationally in NCAA Division II.

SCOUTING FRANKLIN PIERCE

Franklin Pierce enters Wednesday's games with the nation's 13th best winning percentage (.846). The Ravens also own the third-best fielding percentage in NCAA Division II at .981, just fractions of a point behind Central Oklahoma's nation-leading .982 mark.
The Ravens have lost three of their last five games, including convincing defeats at Southern New Hampshire (10-4) and at Adelphi (11-3, six innings). Their most recent doubleheader sweep was at Bentley on Apr. 10, claiming 6-2 and 5-1 victories.
Franklin Pierce has stolen 72 bases on the season (2.77/game) and has been caught just four times. The Ravens lead the NE10 in fielding percentage (.981) and ranks second nationally with 0.69 triples per game, slamming 18 three-baggers on the season.
Ashley Cangiano leads Franklin Pierce with a .411 batting average, rapping 30 hits in 73 at-bats for the Ravens. Gina Hinckley has six home runs and joins Cangiano with a >.400 batting average, hitting .403 while getting on base at a .517 clip via 14 walks.

ALL-TIME vs. FRANKLIN PIERCE

Saint Anselm has won 67 of the 84 games in the all-time series, the most wins for the Hawks against any one opponent in team history.
The Hawks have won 13 of the last 15 games, dropping the two games by 2-0 and 2-1 margins.

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