MANCHESTER, N.H. - Junior
Audrey Arsenault (Stow, Mass) crushed her second home run of the season while senior
Haile Hicks (Jefferson, N.H.) matched her season-high with nine strikeouts, helping the Saint Anselm College softball team split a Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) doubleheader against Pace University on Friday. The Hawks are now 12-8 in league play while the Setters collect a 14-6 conference record.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm will celebrate their senior class on Saturday, April 27 hosting Adelphi University for their final regular season doubleheader scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. from the South Athletic Field.
Score: Saint Anselm 1, Pace 7
W: Garcia (18-3)
L: DiPippo (2-7)
Records: Saint Anselm 19-21 (11-8 NE10); Pace 31-11 (14-5 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (South Athletic Field)
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1):
- Saint Anselm took an early lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to an RBI single from Arsenault that scored sophomore Rose Reitmeyer (Oxford, Conn.) and gave the home team a 1-0 edge.
- The Setter bats came alive in the top of the third scoring six runs off six hits to take a 6-1 advantage highlighted by a two-RBI triple from Willa Poplawski.
- Freshman pitcher Sam Ryan (Tewksbury, Mass.) checked into the game and struck out two batters in the top of the fourth to keep Pace off the scoreboard.
- Senior Gracie O'Hara (Shrewsbury, Mass.) tried to get the Hawks offense going in the bottom of the inning with a double to left field, but Pace's starter Gisselle Garcia struck out the next three batters to retire the side.
- The Setters tacked on another run in the top of the fifth with an RBI single by Sophie Valle to make it a 7-1 game.
- Arsenault posted her second hit of the game in the bottom of the seventh to advance senior Hannah Ramer (Rehoboth, Mass.) to second base, but Pace was able to seal the win after Garcia struck out the final batter of the inning to take game one by a final score of 7-1.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Pace posted 12 hits, seven runs, and zero errors while Saint Anselm scored one run off four hits along with two errors.
- The Setters tallied four extra-base hits off three doubles and a triple in comparison to the Hawks with one double in the contest. Pace also collected a pair of stolen bases while Reitmeyer snagged the lone stolen base for Saint Anselm.
- Arsenault ended game one going 2-for-2 at the plate with the only RBI for the Hawks while junior Ava Caputo (Waterbury, N.Y.) and O'Hara each recorded one hit in the game featuring a double by O'Hara.
- Junior starting pitcher Sophia DiPippo (Cranston, R.I.) picked up the loss after pitching the opening 2.2 innings, allowing six earned runs off eight hits. Ryan finished the game throwing 4.1 innings and did not allow an earned run while striking out three.
- Garcia earned her 18th win of the season for Pace throwing the entire seven innings, allowing one earned run off four hits and punching out 15 batters.
Score: Saint Anselm 6, Pace 1
W: Hicks (16-5)
L: Acevedo (8-5)
Records: Saint Anselm 20-21 (12-8 NE10); Pace 31-12 (14-6 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (South Athletic Field)
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2):
- The Hawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead to start game two as junior Sam Wiberg (Exeter, N.H.) hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Ramer.
- Junior Alyssa Wironen (Leominster, Mass.) drilled the ball up the middle for a single to kick off the bottom of the second inning. Arsenault then crushed the ball over the center field fence for a two-run home run, her second of the season, to give Saint Anselm a 3-0 lead.
- Hicks, the starting pitcher for Saint Anselm in game two, struck out three batters in the following two innings, limiting the Setters to just two hits.
- In the bottom of the fifth, freshman Jamie Calkins (Charlton, Mass.) got the Hawks bats going with a single through the right side. O'Hara then ripped the ball down the left field line for an RBI double that scored freshman Brooke Tardugno (Methuen, Mass.), who checked into the game as a pinch runner.
- Wiberg picked up another RBI after reaching first base on an error by the Setters infield that brought Ramer home and extended Saint Anselm's advantage to 5-0.
- In the top of the sixth, Pace cashed in their first run of the game off a sacrifice fly from Riley Jenkin to make it 5-1.
- Junior Julia Howse (North Reading, Mass.) began the bottom of the sixth with a double down the left field line before advancing to third base for the Hawks. Caputo then singled through the left side to score Howse.
- Hicks secured the doubleheader split after punching out two batters in the top of the seventh to help the Hawks win game two by a final score of 6-1.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm recorded six runs off eight hits while Pace posted just one run off five hits along with two errors.
- The Hawks earned three extra-base hits highlighted by the Arsenault home run as well as two doubles. The Setters did not produce an extra base hit and neither team snagged a stolen base in the contest.
- O'Hara had a 2-for-3 performance in game two with an RBI double, while both Arsenault and Wiberg collected two RBIs apiece in the win.
- Hicks earned her 16th win of the season after pitching the entire game, allowing just one earned run and one hit. She recorded nine strikeouts against the Setters to tie her season-high after facing 27 batters.
- This marked the 29th and 30th games between these two teams in the all-time series. Saint Anselm now holds a 13-17 record against Pace.
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