PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Staring at a 4-0 deficit in the team's first Northeast-10 Conference postseason game, the Saint Anselm College softball team scored five unanswered runs to claim a 5-4 victory over Assumption University on Friday in the NE10 semifinals.
The No. 2 seed in the NE10 postseason, the Hawks (28-14) have earned a spot in the league's championship game at noon on Saturday in Garden City, N.Y. For the third consecutive championship series, Saint Anselm will battle Adelphi University – the Hawks have claimed league titles over the Panthers in those last two meetings (2019, 2021).
Assumption (20-26) took advantage of four unearned runs in the top of the second before the Hawks settled in to score five runs in the next three half-innings to log their third win of 2022 over the Greyhounds.
With the score tied at four and runners at second and third, sophomore Gracie O'Hara (Shrewsbury, Mass.) hit a ball on the ground that was corralled and thrown home. Junior Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.) was initially ruled out at the plate, but after a conference between the umpires, the out call was reversed and the go-ahead run was awarded to Saint Anselm.
Sophomore Haile Hicks (Jefferson, N.H.), the team's lone First Team All-Conference selection, improved to 21-3 on the season by striking out eight batters and conceding zero earned runs on the day. Hicks moves into 10th in single-season history with 153 strikeouts on the season and she joins Morgan Perry '21 as one of just two pitchers with at least 21 wins in a single season.
Junior Kate Irwin (Milford, Mass.) had an outstanding game for Saint Anselm out of the nine hole, driving in three runs with an RBI triple before a game-tying two-run single to left-center field. Establishing a career-high in batting average this season (.279), Irwin has posted 34 hits in 122 at-bats in 42 games for the Hawks.
The Greyhounds loaded the bases in the top of the first inning before Hicks got a strikeout to end the threat. The first two batters reached on walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases – the Hawks did retire a batter at the plate in the
With one out in the top of the second, Assumption saw five batters in a row reach either via hit or by an error in the field. In total, four runs scored on two hits and two errors – Hicks was able to get a bases-loaded strikeout once again to stop the furious Assumption rally. In total, 10 batters came to the plate for the Greyhounds.
The Hawks produced their first run of the day in the bottom of the second. O'Hara led off the stanza with a single and came around to score on a double by freshman Stephanie Tardugno (Methuen, Mass.), cutting the lead to 4-1. An RBI triple with two outs by Irwin halved the Greyhounds lead at 4-2. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Saint Anselm before a flyout to right ended the frame.
The bottom of the third inning is where the Hawks tied the game at four. With two quick outs, an error by the Assumption shortstop preceded two walks and a bases-loaded single by Irwin that dramatically drove in two runners. The ball was hit the other way and just cleared the glove of the Greyhounds shortstop, who leapt high into the air but could not bring the ball down.
Hicks once again pitched around trouble in the top of the fourth inning, getting another clutch strikeout with two runners on. She finished the game by retiring the final nine batters in order, striking out three of the final five that she faced to lock down her 21st pitching victory of the year.
Saint Anselm is looking for its third NE10 postseason championship on Saturday. The Hawks are also in search of yet another NCAA postseason appearance, winning the program's second East Region Championship in 2021.
