MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College softball team picked up two important wins in Northeast-10 Conference play on Sunday, sweeping Assumption University at the South Athletic Fields.
The Hawks scratched across a run in the bottom of the eighth inning in game one, picking up a 2-1 win in extra innings. In game two, Saint Anselm overcame an early 3-0 deficit with a four-run bottom of the sixth inning, securing a 4-3 victory to conclude the day.
Saint Anselm won all four games this weekend at home, improving to 24-13 overall on the season and upping the team's record in NE10 play to 17-5. The Hawks have won nine of their last 10 games at home during the regular season, dropping the one game by a one-run margin.
Assumption was swept for the first time all season in an NE10 doubleheader, dropping to 14-23 overall on the year and to 11-9 versus the league.
GAME ONE – Saint Anselm 2, Assumption 1 (8 inn.)
Junior Kate Irwin (Milford, Mass.) picked up an infield single to open the game and later stole second, allowing classmate Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.) to do the same exact thing, placing runners on second and third with nobody out. Senior Bailey Cain (Wellington, Fla.) drove in the game's first run, hitting a fly ball to right that scored Irwin.
The stolen base for Irwin gave her 14 on the season, cracking into the single-season top-10 list in Saint Anselm history – the 14 thefts on 14 attempts are the most in single-season history without being caught stealing.
Through the first six innings of play, Saint Anselm left a total of eight runners on base as sophomore Haile Hicks (Jefferson, N.H.) kept the Hawks in the game with strong pitching. In total, Hicks struck out five batters between the fifth and sixth innings, maintaining her team's 1-0 lead.
In the top of the seventh inning, the lead-off batter was struck by a pitch. With two outs in the game, the pinch runner stole second base – down to the team's last strike, Assumption came up with a clutch RBI double that found the left-center field gap to draw the game even at one.
After another runner for Saint Anselm was stranded in the home half of the seventh inning, Assumption could not produce a run in the top of the eighth after moving a baserunner into scoring position.
The Hawks led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a throwing error by the Assumption shortstop. With O'Hara on first, she was sacrificed over to second for the inning's first out. With one out, freshman Stephanie Tardugno (Methuen, Mass.) came up with the game-winning hit.
Tardugno softly grounded to the shortstop, who attempted a tag of O'Hara, who was heading to third. Unable to make contact, the shortstop fired on to first where she did not beat the hustling Tardugno. Never stopping around third base, O'Hara came around and touched home for the game-winning run.
Hicks moves to 18-3 in the circle this season for Saint Anselm, matching a career-high with 11 strikeouts and establishing a new single-season high with eight innings pitched. She conceded just three hits and one earned run.
Only four pitchers in Saint Anselm have reached 18 victories in one season, including Morgan Perry '21 (2018, 2019, 2021), Lisa Petell '99 (1999) and Andrea Messina '03 (2000).
GAME TWO – Saint Anselm 4, Assumption 3
With two outs in the top of the second, Assumption came up with an RBI single that dropped just in front of Irwin in left field, putting the Greyhounds up by a 1-0 score. In total, the visitors picked up three hits in the stanza to apply early pressure to the Hawks.
Once again, with two outs in the top of the third, Assumption slammed a booming two-run home run to right-center field that upped the team's lead to 3-0.
A huge sixth inning for Saint Anselm proved to be the difference in the game. With a lead-off double by Fitzpatrick before a five-pitch walk to senior Bre Klaiber (Ironton, Ohio), O'Hara roped a two-run double down the left field line to reduce the hosts' deficit to two runs, 3-2.
Junior Kylee Royer (Blackshear, Ga.) followed up with a single through the right side on the new reliever for the Greyhounds, tying the game at three. With two outs, Tardugno walked to place two runners on base for freshman Audrey Arsenault (Stow, Mass.) – singling up the middle, pinch-runner Jess Persechino (Torrington, Conn.) came around to score what ultimately was the game-winning run for Saint Anselm.
Freshman Sophia DiPippo (Cranston, R.I.) locked down the win in the circle for Saint Anselm, pitching a complete game after retiring the side in order in the top of the seventh. She allowed zero walks and fanned three batters, throwing over 100 pitches in the victorious effort.
