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Merrimack
Sweeps Franklin Pierce
NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. (April 1, 2007) – The Franklin Pierce softball team suffered a pair of losses to Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference action this afternoon at Warrior Field. The Warriors defeated the Ravens 10-2 over five innings in game one before completing the sweep with a 6-2 victory in the night cap. Merrimack 10, Franklin Pierce 2 Sophomore Felicia Astorino (Virginia Beach, Va./Bishop Sullivan) led the Merrimack nine-hit attack with a 2-3 performance, including a homerun (1), two runs scored and three RBI. Senior Clarissa Lewis (Peabody, Mass./Peabody) hit 1-3 with a double, two runs scored and one RBI to aid the Warriors, while freshman Casey Conetta (Andover, Mass./Andover) went 2-3 with a double and one RBI. Sophomore Courtney Jacobs (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) led Franklin Pierce, hitting 1-1 with her first collegiate homerun (1), a walk, one run scored and two RBI. Senior captain Michelle McConnell (Elora, Ontario/Centre Wellington) was also solid with a single and one run scored. Franklin Pierce opened the scoring in the second inning as Jacobs belted her first homerun of the season to drive in McConnell (single) and give the Ravens an early 2-0 lead. Merrimack responded in the bottom half of the frame with a three run rally capped by an RBI double by senior Kristen Belair (Methuen, Mass./Methuen). Merrimack added a single run in the third inning before exploding for six runs in the fifth for the final 10-2 mercy-rule victory. Astorino led the Warrior scoring surge with a two run double, while Lewis connected for an RBI double down the left-field line. Merrimack freshman Atlee Cahill (Gloucester, Mass.) pitched the complete game for her first win of the season (1-1). The rookie hurler yielder just two-hits over five innings while striking out five and walking just one. Jacobs suffered the loss for Franklin Pierce (4-3). Merrimack 6, Franklin Pierce 2
Sophomore Jill Richards (Bucksport, Maine/Bucksport) led Merrimack offensively in the nightcap, hitting a perfect 2-2 with two doubles, two runs scored and two RBI. Senior Kristin Hodder (Pepperell, Mass./North Middlesex) added two hits, including a double, and three RBI, while Clarissa Lewis chipped in with two singles. Freshman Kristen Tracy (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Walter Panas) led the Franklin Pierce attack with a 1-3 performance, including a homerun (2), one run scored and two RBI. Sophomore Jackie Prybella (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) added a pinch-hit base hit for the Ravens, while classmate Elaine Matthews (Roslindale, Mass./Archbishop Williams) chipped in with one run scored. Merrimack took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning as Hodder laced an RBI single to drive home Jill Richards. In the bottom of the fifth, the Warriors added five more runs on three hits and one error. Sophomore Jill Gagnon (Manchester, N.H./Manchester) and Hodder led the Warrior rally with one double each, while Cummings belted an RBI single. Franklin Pierce fired back with two runs in the top of the sixth inning on Tracy’s second homerun of the season, but Merrimack silenced the Raven bats thereafter to earn its sixth victory of the season. Courtney Jacobs suffered the loss for Franklin Pierce, yielding six runs (five earned), on ten hits over five innings of work (4-4). The sophomore hurler posted seven strikeouts while walking only two. Jill Gagnon collected the win for Merrimack, tossing a complete game, two-hitter with seven strikeouts (1-3) Franklin Pierce (4-10, 1-3 NE-10) will be in action again on Tuesday as it hosts UMass Lowell at 3 p.m. Merrimack (6-8, 3-1 NE-10) hosts Stonehill College on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. |
