COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Anselm College softball team came away with a pair of one-run wins over Saint Michael's College on Tuesday by scores of 4-3 and 3-2.
The Hawks improve to 18-10 on the season with an 8-4 record in Northeast-10 Conference play while the Purple Knights drop to 10-16 overall and 3-7 against league opponents. Saint Anselm will be back in action on Sunday, Apr. 16 with a conference doubleheader at Bentley University.
Junior
Gracie O'Hara (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and sophomore
Ava Caputo (Waterford, N.Y.) led the Hawks offense with four hits on the day. Senior
Jess Persechino (Torrington, Conn.) added three hits for the Hawks in the twinbill.
O'Hara, Caputo, and sophomore
Audrey Arsenault (Stow, Mass.) were credited with two runs batted in each on the day.
Senior
Ava Vincequere (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and junior
Haile Hicks (Jefferson, N.H.) collected the wins from the pitching circle. Vincequere came on in relief of game one starter sophomore
Sophia DiPippo (Cranston, R.I.) and allowed just one hit in 1.1 innings of work before Hicks came on to close down game one. Hicks later added a complete game effort in game two as she allowed two runs on five hits while fanning 11.
GAME ONE: Saint Anselm 4, Saint Michael's 3
The Purple Knights managed to load the bases in the bottom of the first inning but a fielder's choice and a fly out got DiPippo and the Hawks out of early trouble.
Saint Michael's pushed across three runs in the bottom of the second inning as they loaded the bases again before
Jamie Hearn scored on a wild pitch for the game's opening run.
Jenna Devens was credited with a sacrifice fly and an RBI before an infield single from
Meghan Connor extended the lead to 3-0.
Saint Anselm responded with one run in the top of the third inning as Persechino doubled to extend the inning and came around to score on the next pitch on a single from Caputo.
The Hawks added a second two-out run in the top of the fifth. Persechino singled to keep the inning alive before swiping second and scoring on a Caputo double to right center.
Saint Michael's had a great chance to get some runs back as they put runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the fifth but Vincequere managed to roll a double play ball to get the Hawks out of the jam.
Saint Anselm loaded the bases in the top of the sixth after hits from O'Hara and senior
Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.) and a walk from sophomore
Sam Wiberg (Exeter, N.H.). Arsenault would come through for the Hawks with a two-run single to give Saint Anselm a 4-3 lead. However, the Hawks were unable to add to the lead as a pair of ground outs and a line out would strand three runners in the frame.
The Purple Knights got a runner to second on a double in the sixth but could not cash in on the scoring chance.
The Hawks loaded the bases in the top of the seventh inning but could not manufacture the insurance runs.
Saint Michael's got a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh but Hicks fanned one batter and got a ground out to close game one with a Hawks win by a 4-3 score.
GAME TWO: Saint Anselm 3, Saint Michael's 2
Saint Anselm struck in the top of the first as Caputo singled to lead off the game before reaching second on a passed ball. She would advance to third on a foul out before scoring on a single from O'Hara, giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
The Hawks added two runs in the top of the third. Caputo again led off with single before reaching second on a sacrifice bunt. She would score on an O'Hara single up the middle to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. After reaching third on a wild pitch, O'Hara crossed the plate on a Fitzpatrick sacrifice fly, pushing the lead to 3-0.
The Purple Knights netted two runs in the bottom of the fourth, the first on a Connor one-out solo home run. After reaching on an error,
Angelica Johns would score on a single from
Haley Waghorn to make the score 3-2. Saint Michael's put runners on second and third with one out but a pair of strikeouts from Hicks preserved the Saint Anselm advantage.
Saint Anselm got runners on second and third with one out in the top of the seventh but a pair of fly outs would send Saint Michael's to the plate down one run with three outs left.
Hicks got the first two batters to strikeout before getting a ground out to secure the doubleheader sweep.
