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Southern New
Hampshire Rallies Past Franklin Pierce
RINDGE, N.H. (April 27, 2006) – The Franklin Pierce softball team suffered a pair of losses to Southern New Hampshire University in a Northeast-10 doubleheader this afternoon at the Franklin Pierce Softball Field. The Penmen posted a 6-3 win in game one and rallied late in game two to record a 6-5 victory. In game one, Southern New Hampshire pitchers sophomore Mary Bradford (Big Bear, Calif./Big Bear) and junior Ashley Smith (Franklin, N.H./Franklin) kept Franklin Pierce batters in check all game as the two allowed three runs on seven hits. Bradford started the game for the Penmen, tossing five innings, allowing three runs, two earned on six hits, while Smith hurled two innings of relief allowing only one hit to pick up her first save of the season. Franklin Pierce freshmen Elaine Matthews (Roslindale, Mass./Archbishop Williams) and Stephanie Howard (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) were a combine 4-for-8 to lead the Ravens. Matthews was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored while Howard was 2-for-4 with one RBI. Freshman Courtney Jacobs (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) pitched in with a RBI single and a run scored. Junior Felicia Brum (Braintree, Mass./Blue Hills Reg.) paced Southern New Hampshire, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, one run scored and three RBIs. Senior Nikki Cote (Bristol, R.I./LaSalle Academy) was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, with two runs scored and two RBIs. Penmen junior Tara Moriarty (Randolph, Mass./Randolph) was also solid, chipping in with a 2-for-4 performance with one RBI.
Southern New Hampshire opened the scoring in the first inning as the Penmen’s first three batters connected for hits, capped by a Karissa Bettencourt (Norton, Mass./Norton) RBI double. One batter later, Moriarty placed a double down the right field line to score Bettencourt and give the Penmen an early 3-0 lead. Southern New Hampshire added another run in the top half of the fifth inning, but Franklin Pierce countered in the bottom half of the frame, posting one run on two hits. Jacobs lead off the inning for the Ravens with a single and advanced to second base on a pass-ball. Sophomore Jenna Giardiana (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic) followed with a single and initiated a double-steal to allow Jacobs to score the first Raven run. In the top half of the sixth inning, Southern New Hampshire tacked on two more runs to increase its lead to 6-1. Franklin Pierce chipped away in the bottom half of the sixth inning, scoring two runs, as Howard registered her RBI single to plate sophomore Kate Surgen (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) who singled earlier in the inning. Matthews scored later in the inning to cut the Penmen lead to 6-3, but Southern New Hampshire held on to claim their 17th victory of the season.
Franklin Pierce sophomore
Lindsay Knapp (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) suffered the loss
for the Ravens. The right-hander tossed a complete game, allowing
six earned runs on twelve hits while striking out three.
Batteries:
In game two, Franklin Pierce freshman Jackie Prybella (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) led the Ravens as she was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a triple and three RBIs. Classmate Becky Savard (Gardner, Mass./Gardner) was also solid, going 1-for-3 with one run scored and one RBI. Southern New Hampshire received solid offensive production from freshman Ashley Bernstein (Stoughton, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) who went 2-for-2 with two runs scored. Junior Sandra Lawton (Woburn, Mass./Woburn) went 2-for -3 at the plate with two RBIs, while Brum belted her third homerun of the season. Southern New Hampshire held an early 3-0 advantage after four innings of play, but Franklin Pierce rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to regain the lead. Franklin Pierce took advantage of two Penmen errors and notched two hits to produce the big rally that was capped by a RBI triple from Prybella that plated three Raven runs. In the top of the sixth inning, Southern New Hampshire cut the Franklin Pierce lead to 5-4 as Lawton connected for a RBI single to plate Bernstein. After holding the Ravens scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, the Penmen notched two runs in the top of the seventh frame to take the lead. After a Raven error, Brum belted her third homerun of the season down the left field line just inside the foul pole to give the Penmen their 18th victory of the season. Jacobs hurled all seven innings for Franklin Pierce, allowing six runs, four earned on eight hits while striking out three. Bernstein pitched a complete game for Southern New Hampshire, yielding five runs, zero earned, on four hits while striking out four.
Franklin Pierce (11-22-1, 4-15-1
NE-10) will be in action again on Saturday as it hosts Pace
University at 12 p.m. Southern New Hampshire University (18-16,
17-5) will travel to Southern Connecticut State University tomorrow
afternoon at 3 p.m.
Batteries: LP: Jacobs (4-11) |
