UMass Lowell Edges Franklin Pierce
Ravens fall to River Hawks 6-5 in game one; suffer 9-6 setback in nightcap

LOWELL, MASS. (April 3, 2007) – The Franklin Pierce softball team suffered a pair of losses to UMass Lowell in Northeast-10 Conference action this evening at Riverview Field. The Ravens fell to the River Hawks 6-5 over eight innings in game one before suffering a 9-6 setback in the nightcap.

 UMass Lowell 6, Franklin Pierce 5

Freshman Katelyn Hebert (Lowell, Mass) led the UMass Lowell offensive attack in game one, finishing 2-4 with the game-winning homerun, one run scored and one RBI. Junior Jacheal Guanci (Everett, Mass.) also hit 2-4 with two singles and one run scored, while senior Vikki Guido (Winchendon, Mass.) went 2-5 with two singles, one run scored and one stolen base. Senior captain Kristen Mahoney (Burlington, Mass.) chipped in with a homerun for the River Hawks.

Freshman Kristen Tracy (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Walter Panas) led Franklin Pierce with a 3-4 performance, including a double, while classmate Kylie Molinari (Meriden, Conn./Maloney) hit 2-4 with a double, one run scored, and one RBI. Sophomores Courtney Jacobs (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) and Jackie Prybella (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) chipped in with one homerun each.

UMass Lowell jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning on a four run rally capped by a two-run homerun by Mahoney. Franklin Pierce fired back in the bottom of the second inning with two runs on an RBI double by Molinari. The River Hawks increased their lead to 5-2 in the top of the third inning with a single run, but the Ravens evened the score in the bottom of the fifth frame on a two-run homerun by Jacobs.

After two scoreless innings, UMass Lowell connected for a single run in the top of the eighth inning on a homerun by Katie Hebert. Franklin Pierce threatened in the bottom half of the inning as sophomore Elaine Matthews (Roslindale, Mass./Archbishop Williams) belted a two-out single, but the River Hawks caught Matthews stealing to end the inning.

Kristen Mahoney earned the win for UMass Lowell with a complete game effort, yielding five runs on 11 hits, while striking out ten. Courtney Jacobs suffered the loss for Franklin Pierce, allowing six runs on 11 hits over eight innings pitched, while striking out five (4-5).

UMass Lowell 9, Franklin Pierce 6

Junior Laurie Tanguay (Lowell, Mass.) led UMass Lowell in game two, hitting
2-5 with a homerun, one run scored and one RBI. Sophomore Stacey Lajoie (Gardner, Mass.) added four runs scored on two walks for the River Hawks, while Jacheal Guanci finished 1-3 with a double and one run scored.

Freshmen Kylie Molinari led the Franklin Pierce offensive attack with a homerun, one run scored and three RBI, while classmate Kristen Tracy added a 1-3 performance, including a single, a walk and one run scored. Elaine Matthews was also solid, hitting
1-4 with a double and three RBI.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring early in the first inning with a three run rally capped by a three-run homerun by Molinari. UMass Lowell responded with four runs in the top of the second inning to take a slim 4-3 lead, but the Ravens rallied three runs in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI double by Matthews.

Trailing 6-4, UMass Lowell rallied back, scoring five times over the last five innings to take a 9-6 lead and earn its ninth victory of the season. Hebert and Tanguay led the River Hawk comeback with one homerun each, while Guanci belted an RBI double.

Junior Beckty Aalto (Hubbardston, Mass./Gardner) suffered the loss in relief for Franklin Pierce. The rookie hurler was touched for five runs over five innings of work, while striking out one. Freshman Lindsay Farmer (Kingston, N.H.) earned the victory for UMass Lowell, tossing a complete game, three-hitter, while striking out seven.

Franklin Pierce (4-12, 1-5 NE-10) will be in action again on Saturday as it travels to Bryant University at 12 p.m. UMass Lowell (9-11, 4-2 NE-10) will host Bentley College on Thursday at 3 p.m.

 

 GAME STATISTICS AND BOX SCORE TO FOLLOW