Allen goes the distance in picking up game one victory
GAME 1 BOXSCORE
GAME 2 BOXSCORE
RINDGE, N.H. (April 19, 2011) – The Franklin Pierce
University softball team ran its winning streak to four-straight
games on Tuesday with a doubleheader sweep of Saint Michael's
at FPU Softball Field in Rindge, N.H. The Ravens took game one by a
count of 6-2, and followed with a 12-6 triumph in game two.
Franklin Pierce improved to 9-21 overall and 7-11 in the
Northeast-10, while St. Mike's dipped to 4-22 and 2-14 in
league play.
Sophomore starting pitcher
Rachel Allen (Hull, Mass.) got the ball in the
circle in game one and worked all seven innings to earn the win to
improve to 1-3 on the season. She scattered six hits while giving
up just two runs (only one earned) and striking out six.
Emily Griffin (Leominster,
Mass.), Jayme Bilafer (Concord, Mass.) and Nicole
Pratt (Gardner, Mass.) each had two hits in the game. One
of Pratt's hits was a three-run home run in the fourth inning
that enabled the Ravens to pull off the come-from-behind
victory.
After spotting St. Mike's a
2-0 lead in the top half of the fourth, Pratt's blast came in
a four-run, bottom half of the frame for the Ravens, who broke open
the game from there. The inning started with Rachel Baxter
(Cumberland, R.I.) reaching via an error and advancing to
second after Jessica Furtado (Taunton, Mass.) was
hit by a pitch. Meaghan O'Neal (Littleton,
Mass.), who would have a monster offensive game in the
second contest, advanced both runners up a base with a successful
sacrifice bunt attempt. Jamie Verner (Natick,
Mass.) followed by hitting into a fielder's choice,
but all runners would be safe, including Baxter, who raced home in
time to score the game's first run. Pratt then stepped to the
plate and launched a shot over the left-field wall to also bring
home Furtado and Verner on the play.
Franklin Pierce would add to its
lead in the sixth inning with a pair of runs and it all started
with another strong swing from Pratt, who led off the frame with a
double to left field. Griffin would drive her in moments later with
a single back up the middle, and she would eventually score on a
play when Bilafer reached via a throwing error by the Purple
Knights.
Allen did yield a double in the top
of the seventh as Saint Michael's tried to rally, but she
shut the door on the Purple Knights with a strikeout to end the
threat.
Franklin Pierce picked up in game
two where it left off in game one, as the Ravens scored twice in
the first inning and four times in the second to blow the game
open.
Griffin led off the first with a
single and eventually scored on another St. Mike's error,
while Furtado singled home Jamie Wiley (Cape Vincent,
N.Y.) for the inning's second run.
The Purple Knights did plate a run
in the second to cut the deficit to 2-1, but the Ravens were quick
to counter with the four runs in the bottom of the inning.
O'Neal, Verner and Griffin each reached via a single to start
the frame, and O'Neal would come home moments later on a
passed ball. Wiley followed and brought in both Verner and Griffin
with a two-run double to left-center. Wiley would eventually score
on a fielding error by St. Mike's later in the frame.
The Purple Knights, though,
wouldn't go away and scored three times in the fourth to pull
within 6-4. However, Franklin Pierce answered with two runs in the
fourth and three more in the fifth to go up 11-5. Baxter had an RBI
single in the fourth. Franklin Pierce sent all nine batters to the
plate in the fifth, and the rally began with a leadoff double from
O'Neal, who went 4-for-4 in the game with two doubles and two
singles. The Ravens would eventually load the bases and Baxter
collected an RBI by drawing a walk to bring home O'Neal.
Bilafer collected an RBI by drawing another bases loaded walk, and
Wiley stroked a run-scoring single to cap the scoring for the
Ravens in the inning.
For safe measure, Franklin Pierce
scored once in the sixth, as the Ravens would cruise on to victory
from there.
Jessica Wiley (Cape
Vincent, N.Y.) got the start in the pitching circle for
Ravens in game two and earned the win after going four-plus innings
yielding five runs on seven hits.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Thursday when the Ravens travel to Manchester to face Southern New
Hampshire in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. The game was
originally scheduled for Wednesday, but was moved due to potential
inclement weather hitting the region.
For more information on Franklin
Pierce softball, please visit the team's page at
athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further,
please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports),
Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics)
and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).