SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College softball team posted a pair of comeback wins to secure a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader sweep at American International College on Saturday.
The Hawks improve to 21-12-1 overall and 11-6-1 in conference play following the 6-4 win in eight innings and the 8-5 win in game two. The Yellow Jackets fall to 6-34 on the season and 2-16 in conference contests.
Junior
Gracie O'Hara (Shrewsbury, Mass.) registered four hits on the day with three of those hits going for extra bases. Sophomore
Alyssa Wironen (Leominster, Mass.), sophomore
Audrey Arsenault (Stow, Mass.), and sophomore
Ava Caputo (Waterford, N.Y.) collected two hits apiece between the pair of games.
O'Hara and Wironen were credited with three runs batted in each with Caputo claiming two RBIs.
Junior
Haile Hicks (Jefferson, N.H.) and senior
Ava Vincequere (Shrewsbury, Mass.) claimed the wins from the pitching circle each for the Hawks. Hicks collected her 14th win of the season for Saint Anselm after allowing four runs on five hits in the eight-inning complete game effort while Vincequere allowed just four hits in four innings of relief in game two.
Saint Anselm will be back in action on Tuesday, Apr. 25 in a pair of NE10 contests at Assumption University. The first pitch in game one is slated for a 3 p.m. start.
GAME ONE: Saint Anselm 6, American International 4 – Eight Innings
Saint Anselm managed to get a runner to third in the top of the first inning but a fly out got the Yellow Jackets out of the early trouble.
American International scored the opening run of game one on a leadoff homerun from
Victoria Andrade in the bottom of the second.
The Yellow Jackets pushed across a second run in the bottom of the third inning as
Abigail Wells singled to keep the inning alive and would come around to score on a double down the right field line from
Alexis Jimenez.
O'Hara got the Hawks on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning on a leadoff solo home run, pushing the score to 2-1.
American International added a third run in the bottom of the fourth inning on a double from
Kodi Gora which scored
Brianna Harzula who reached on a one-out walk.
The Yellow Jackets pushed the lead to three at 4-1 on a second home run of the game from Andrade in the bottom of the sixth.
Arsenault and Wironen opened the top of the seventh with a single and a double. Arsenault would score on an RBI ground out from senior
Meghan Gibbons (Litchfield, N.H.). After a fly out got the Yellow Jackets to two outs in the frame, Caputo and sophomore
Stephanie Tardugno (Methuen, Mass.) collected back-to-back hits to plate two runs and tie the score at four.
The Hawks would take their first lead of game one in the top of the eighth inning. Sophomore
Sam Wiberg (Exeter, N.H.) registered a one-out double and would come around to score on a home run from Wironen, pushing the score to 6-4 for Saint Anselm.
American International would get two runners on base with just one out. However, Hicks got a strikeout and a ground out to close the contest with the Hawks grabbing game one by a 6-4 score.
GAME TWO: Saint Anselm 8, American International 5
The Yellow Jackets loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning and would score the game's first run on a ground out from Harzula. Gora would plate two on a double to give the hosts a 3-0 lead through the first inning.
American International added two runs in the bottom of the third inning as Andrade doubled to score
Mackenzie Berman, who singled in the previous at-bat. Andrade later scored on a fielding error to give the Yellow Jackets a 5-0 lead.
Saint Anselm manufactured one run in the top of the fourth as senior
Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.) would score on a wild pitch.
The Hawks pushed across seven runs in the top of the fifth and claimed an 8-5 lead. After loading the bases, O'Hara doubled off the left field fence to score two runs before two more scored on a fielding error, which tied the contest.
Saint Anselm loaded the bases again following a pitching change and the Hawks would take the lead on a throwing error before scoring one run each on a sacrifice fly and a fielder's choice.
American International would get a baserunner to third with two outs in the bottom of the sixth but could not manufacture the run.
After a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh, Saint Anselm would turn a double play before Vincequere rolled a ground ball to close the doubleheader.
