Pratt tallies three hits for
Ravens
Emily Griffin tallied two hits against Saint Joseph's on Saturday
afternoon.
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CLERMONT, Fla. (March 13,
2010) – Junior outfielder Nicole Pratt
(Gardner, Mass.) recorded three hits on Saturday, but the
Franklin Pierce University softball team lost its first two games
of the season in neutral-site play at the National Training Center.
The Ravens were defeated by Grand Valley State, 6-0, in the
morning, before falling to Saint Joseph's (Ind.), 3-2, in the
afternoon.
The Franklin Pierce offense found
itself stifled in the first game, as the Ravens came up with only
three hits. Pratt, sophomore first baseman Keryn Shannon
(Dracut, Mass.) and sophomore third baseman
Meaghan O'Neal (Littleton, Mass.) all collected
singles for Franklin Pierce in the season opener.
Grand Valley State scored the only
runs it would need in the first inning, when it plated four, and
tacked on two more in the top of the fifth.
In the circle, junior right-hander
Kayla Johnson (Hudson, N.H.) started, pitched five
innings, allowed six runs (two earned) on eight hits, walked three,
struck out three and took the loss (0-1) for Franklin Pierce.
Freshman right-hander Rachel Allen (Hull, Mass.)
followed and pitched two scoreless innings, allowed one hit, walked
one and struck out one.
Franklin Pierce woke up the bats in
the second inning, as the Ravens struck for two runs on eight hits
and did not commit an error in the field. O'Neal and senior first
baseman Kiley Molinari (Meriden, Conn.) each drove
home runs with RBI singles for Franklin Pierce, while Pratt and
junior second baseman Emily Griffin (Leominster,
Mass.) each knocked a pair of singles. Freshman shortstop
Aimee Lamoureux (East Brookfield, Mass.) and
sophomore catcher Jamie Verner (Natick, Mass.)
rounded out the offense with a single apiece.
The game went scoreless into extra
innings, when Franklin Pierce opened things up with a run in the
top of the eighth. However, Saint Joseph's would answer with a run
of its own in the bottom half to force a ninth inning. The Ravens
pushed across a run in the top of the ninth, but would lose the
contest when Saint Joseph's struck twice in the bottom half of the
inning.
Sophomore right-hander
Jessica Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) went the
distance in the circle for Franklin Pierce in the second game. Over
8.2 innings, she allowed three runs on six hits, walked one and
struck out two.
The Ravens return to the field on
Sunday, March 14, when they meet Molloy in a neutral-site,
non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.
at the National Training Center.
