Furtado, Lamoureux, O'Neal hit home runs for Ravens

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

RINDGE, N.H. (April 19, 2010) – Sophomore center fielder Jayme Bilafer (Concord, Mass.) hit a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning on Monday afternoon to give the Franklin Pierce University softball team a 4-3 victory over Saint Rose in the second game of a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader at Franklin Pierce Softball Field. Saint Rose won the first game of the day, 3-2. Junior catcher Nikki Woodard hit a home run in each game for Saint Rose.

With the split, Franklin Pierce moves to 13-18 (8-10 Northeast-10), while Saint Rose is now 8-20 (6-12 Northeast-10).

In the first game, Saint Rose opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. With two outs, sophomore shortstop Kayla Kuilema started things with a single through the left side. Woodard followed with a two-run home run, her fourth of the season, to center field to give the Golden Knights the 2-0 lead.

Franklin Pierce answered with a run of its own in the home half of the first to cut the lead to 2-1 when freshman shortstop Aimee Lamoureux (East Brookfield, Mass.) led off the inning with a solo home run to right field, her second of the season.

Saint Rose reclaimed the two-run lead at 3-1 with a run in the top of the third inning. With one out, freshman right fielder Steph Luce knocked a ball inside the left-field line which then rolled out of play for a ground-rule double. Kuilema followed and put a double over the head of the right fielder to drive home the run.

Franklin Pierce pulled back within a run at 3-2 with a run in the home half of the third. Once again it was a solo home run, this one to left-center by freshman catcher Jessica Furtado (Taunton, Mass.), her second of the season. However, from there, the game would go without another run the rest of the way, as Saint Rose held on for the 3-2 victory.

Junior right-hander Kayla Johnson (Hudson, N.H.) threw all seven innings and took the loss (5-9) in the circle for Franklin Pierce. She allowed three runs on six hits, walked two and struck out two.

Junior right-hander Nicole Traylor started and picked up the win (5-2) for Saint Rose. Over four-plus innings, she allowed two runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out four. Sophomore left-hander Sarah Arbogast tossed three shutout innings, allowed two hits, walked two and struck out three to notch her first save of the season.

In the second game, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Junior second baseman Emily Griffin (Leominster, Mass.) led off, was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a single into left field by Furtado, who served as the designated player in the second game. Both would score when sophomore third baseman Meaghan O'Neal (Littleton, Mass.) launched a three-run home run down the left-field line, her first home run of the season.

However, Saint Rose would answer with three runs of its own in the top of the fifth inning to knot the score at 3-3. With one out, sophomore left fielder Lindsey David started things with a single back through the middle and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. She would come around to score from there on an infield single by Kuilema. Kuilema then scored on Woodard's second home run of the afternoon, this one to center field.

The score would remain 3-3 until Franklin Pierce scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Sophomore catcher Jamie Verner (Natick, Mass.) led off with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore left fielder Rachel Baxter (Cumberland, R.I.). Verner was then replaced by freshman pinch runner Alexa Demsey (Maidstone, Vt.), who moved to third on a flyout to right field. That set the stage for Bilafer, who knocked a game-winning RBI single into left-center field to give the Ravens the walk-off victory.

Sophomore right-hander Jessica Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) took the ball and threw all seven innings to pick up the win (6-5) in the second game for Franklin Pierce. She allowed three runs on eight hits, walked two and struck out three.

Arbogast tossed a complete game and took the loss (3-6) for Saint Rose. She surrendered four runs on six hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out two.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, April 21, when they remain home to host Southern New Hampshire in a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Rindge.