Southern Connecticut Sweeps Franklin Pierce
Brenner powers Owls with pair of homers

RINDGE, N.H. (April 25, 2005) – The Franklin Pierce softball team suffered a doubleheader sweep to Southern Connecticut State University today in Northeast-10 Conference action in Rindge, N.H. After rallying for a 7-5 victory in game one, the Owls earned a 6-1 win in the nightcap. Junior Kelly Brenner (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) blasted homeruns in both games, as the Owls earned their second and third wins of the season over the Ravens.

            In game one, Franklin Pierce jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the first inning, as sophomore Michelle McConnell (Elora, Ontario/Centre Wellington) singled in classmate Kamla Taylor (Sugarland, Texas/Kempner), who had reached on a single.

            Freshman Andrea DeCesaris (West Warwick, R.I./West Warwick) gave Southern Connecticut their first lead in the top of the second stanza, when she ripped a two-run double to left field.

            Taylor singled and scored on freshman Lindsay Knapp’s (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) double in the third, tying the score at two. The Ravens took advantage of a throwing error to open up a 4-2 edge in the fourth frame.

            Southern Connecticut came back to knot the score at four in the top of the sixth. Sophomore Jaime Bartone (Derby, Conn./Derby) rapped a double to plate senior Jamie Johnson (Seymour, Conn./Seymour), who had also doubled. She scored on an error later in the inning.

Franklin Pierce took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth, when freshman Jenna Giardina (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic) singled down the left field line, stole second and third and scored on a passed ball.

            Brenner blasted a three-run homer in the top of the seventh inning and Southern Connecticut held the Ravens scoreless in the bottom of the inning to preserve the 7-4 victory.

            DeCesaris was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a double and a pair of RBI, while Bartone went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and two runs scored for the Owls. Brenner scored three runs to go along with her game-winning round-tripper.

            Knapp led the Franklin Pierce offense with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, including a double and an RBI. Taylor went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while McConnell had a hit and an RBI.

            Freshman Jessica Dempsey (Stratford, Conn./Stratford) surrendered just one earn run in a complete game effort. She won her 11^th game of the year. Senior captain Amy Torla (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) took the loss on the mound for the Ravens.

Batteries:
SCS: Dempsey and DeCesaris
FPC: Torla and Varone

Win: Dempsey (11-3)
Loss: Torla (3-6)
Save: None
HR: Brenner (1)

Southern Connecticut 7, Franklin Pierce 5

 Game Statistics

In game two, Franklin Pierce broke a scoreless tie with a run in the bottom of the third inning, but Southern Connecticut notched six unanswered runs over the next four innings to sweep the twinbill.

The Owls got on the board with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Sophomore Lindsey Castano (Oakdale, Conn./Montville/ECSU) singled to left center to score classmate Courtney Miniter (Branford, Conn./Branford), who had doubled to lead off the inning. Brenner reached on an error and scored on another error for the second run of the stanza.

Southern Connecticut posted three more runs in the fifth, highlighted by Brenner’s two-run homerun. They added an unearned run in the seventh, as they cruised to a 6-1 victory.

Miniter went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Brenner hit 1-for-3 with two RBI and a pair of runs. Castano recorded a hit and an RBI, while senior Jessica Hernandez (Milford, Conn./Foran) added a hit and a pair of runs scored.

Sophomore Colleen Varone (Holliston, Mass./Holliston) doubled in Giardina for the Ravens lone run in the third frame. She led the Ravens offense with two hits and an RBI, while McConnell went 2-for-3.

Brenner scattered seven hits and allowed just one earned run in a complete game performance. Knapp took the loss for Franklin Pierce.

Batteries:
SCS: Brenner and Hernandez
FPC: Knapp (7.0), Aalto (0.0) and Varone

Win: Brenner (10-5)
Loss: Knapp (2-6)
Save: None
HR: Brenner (2)

Southern Connecticut 6, Franklin Pierce 1

Franklin Pierce (9-24, 7-14 NE-10) will travel to Merrimack College for a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader on Thursday starting at 3:30 p.m. The Ravens will wrapup their regular season slate with a pair of home twinbills versus Conference opponents. They will battle Assumption College on Saturday at noon before wrapping up the regular season with a pair of games versus UMass Lowell on Monday, May 2 at 3:00 p.m. Southern Connecticut (21-8-2, 12-6-1 NE-10) returns home for a non-conference doubleheader versus the University of New Haven on Monday at 3:30 p.m.

Game Statistics