Franklin Pierce Hangs Tough in Pair of Losses
Hastings plates two in seventh in 4-3 win; Ravens no-hit in 3-0 loss to Midland Lutheran

TUCSON, Ariz. (March 20, 2008) – The Franklin Pierce University softball team continued to play better, yet still came up on the short end of a pair of losses on Thursday at the Tucson Invitational Games. The Ravens took a one-run lead into the bottom of the seventh before falling to Hastings College, 4-3, on Thursday morning before the team was no-hit by Midland Lutheran College in the afternoon, losing 3-0.

Sophomore Kristen Tracy put the Ravens ahead with a two-run single in the top of the seventh.

Hastings 4, Franklin Pierce 3

Franklin Pierce scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 3-2 lead headed into the bottom of the frame, but Hastings plated a pair in the team’s final at-bat to escape with a 4-3 victory.

 Freshman Emily Griffin (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) went 2-for-4 with a double, while sophomore Kristen Tracy (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Walter Panas) had the only two runs batted in of the game for Franklin Pierce.

Hastings made use of its last at-bat against the Ravens, scoring twice to steal away the win. The Broncos’ Angela Wagner (Denver, Colo.) led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run, knotting the game at three. Sara Sidey (Train, B.C.) then worked a walk off Raven freshman Kayla Johnson (Hudson, N.H./Alvirne) and eventually scored the game-winning run on a fielding error by Griffin.

Johnson continued to pitch well for Franklin Pierce, despite taking the loss (1-2). The freshman righthander threw all seven innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits, striking out five and walking two.

After being held without a run for the first six innings, the Raven offense sprung to life in its last at-bat, scoring three times to take a brief lead. Sophomore Jenna Hunt (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) began the inning by reaching on an error, and a double by Griffin and a walk to junior Elaine Matthews (Roslindale, Mass./Archbishop Williams) loaded the bases for the Ravens. Tracy followed with a two-run double to tie the game at two, and Matthews scored the go-ahead run later in the inning on a wild pitch.

BOXSCORE AND PLAY-BY-PLAY

Senior Becky Aalto allowed only three unearned runs in five-plus innings of work on Thursday.

Midland Lutheran 3, Franklin Pierce 0

Franklin Pierce ran into the terrific pitching of Midland Lutheran sophomore Kelly Sladek (Cordova, Neb.) in its second game, as Sladek no-hit the Ravens on the way to a 3-0 win. Sladek threw a complete-game shutout for the Warriors, walking one while striking out 11 batters.

Senior Becky Aalto (Hubbardston, Mass./Gardner) pitched well on the Raven side, as she allowed all three of her runs in the third inning. A leadoff single was followed by a Raven error, and Aalto nearly got out of the jam by striking out the next two batters. However, Natalie Meduna (Weston, Neb.) followed with an RBI single and Amanda Hullinger (Omaha, Neb.) added a two-run single to provide all the offense Sladek would need.

Aalto (0-2) threw five-plus innings, giving up 10 hits but only allowing the three runs, all unearned. She also struck out three and walked one. Junior Courtney Jacobs (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) came on in relief after Aalto allowed the first two batters of the sixth inning to reach, retiring the next three batters for one scoreless inning of work.

BOXSCORE AND PLAY-BY-PLAY

Franklin Pierce (1-7, 0-0 NE-10) concludes its run at the Tucson Invitational Games tomorrow, with a pair of games against Simon Fraser University at 11:30 a.m. and Hope International University at 1 p.m. local time. Hastings (10-9, 3-1 GPAC) takes on Hope International and Simon Fraser later today, while Midland Lutheran (7-4, 0-0 GPAC) faces off with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire this evening.