Freshman Laura Eidam launches three-run homer to help key
come-from-behind victory in game one
WEST HAVEN, Conn. (April 1, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce
University softball team split its doubleheader at New Haven on
Sunday; winning game one by an 8-5 count, but dropping an 11-0
decision in five innings in game two at UNH Softball Field in West
Haven. The Ravens moved to 9-12 overall and 7-5 in the
Northeast-10, while the Chargers moved to 14-12 and 6-6 in league
play.
Franklin Pierce's game one win did
not come without its tense moments as the Ravens had to battle back
from an early three-run deficit to pull out the gutsy victory. In
fact, the Ravens pushed across a combined seven runs in both the
fifth and sixth innings to pull off the win. Senior Jessica
Furtado (Taunton, Mass.) played a major role in both
innings as she drove in a career-high five runs in the victory.
The Ravens trailed 4-1 in the top
of the fifth inning and had runners on second and third, but two
outs were already up on the board. Furtado stepped to the plate and
after a couple of pitches roped a single to center field, bringing
in senior Jayme Bilafer (Concord, Mass.) and
freshman Alicia Dean (Danvers, Mass.) on the
play.
Furtado's two-out, two-run single
breathed life into Franklin Pierce's rally, but it seemed like the
effort may have gone for not in the bottom of the inning when New
Haven's Brooke Fisher launched a lead-off home run to stake the
Chargers to a 5-3 lead.
Franklin Pierce didn't flinch and
completed the comeback in the sixth with five runs to take an 8-5
lead. Senior outfielder Rachel Baxter (Cumberland,
R.I.) singled to begin the frame and classmate
Jamie Verner (Natick, Mass.) followed by drawing a
walk to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Freshman
Laura Eidam (Stamford, Conn.) then stepped to the
plate and with one swing of the bat deposited a ball over the
left-field wall for a three-run shot, giving the Ravens a one-run
edge at the time.
The Ravens, though, weren't done
yet and sophomore Jamie Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.)
singled in the next at-bat to keep the rally going. Dean singled
through the right side two batters later and senior Nikki
Pratt (Gardner, Mass.) was issued a walk to load the bases
with one out. Furtado, again, came to the plate and delivered once
more as she sent a base-hit into right field, bringing home Wiley
and Dean.
New Haven didn't have an answer for
the Ravens' big inning and quietly went away in both the sixth and
seventh innings, thus sealing the win for Franklin Pierce and
snapping a two-game losing skid. Freshman hurler Jessica
Colson (Feeding Hills, Mass.), who came on in relief of
starter Kaitlyn Johnson (New Boston, N.H.)
in the sixth inning, struck out a pair of Charger batters in the
seventh inning to close out the win and earn the save.
Johnson earned the win (4-5) in the
circle for the Ravens as she went 5.0 innings, yielding five runs
(only two earned) on six hits with four strikeouts and four walks.
As mentioned earlier, Furtado drove in five runs in the game,
including knocking in Bilafer in the third inning on a double down
the left-field line. Dean had a pair of hits in the game and scored
twice.
New Haven didn't let the game one loss spoil its afternoon
completely as the Chargers went right to work in game two, scoring
one run in the first and three more in the second, including a
two-run shot from Lindsey Couturier.
The Chargers exploded for seven
runs in the fourth to set the eight-run rule. Couturier drove in
two more runs with a single to right-center field, while Fisher
doubled home a pair later in the inning to highlight the surge.
Junior pitcher Rachel Allen
(Hull, Mass.) took the loss in the circle for Franklin
Pierce after going 3.1 innings, allowing eight runs on eight hits.
She fell to 3-5 with the setback. Alana Wesche earned the win for
UNH as she worked all five innings and gave up just two hits with
two strikeouts and two walks. Wiley and Verner each stroked a base
hit for the Ravens in the setback.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Tuesday when the Ravens travel to Easton, Mass. to face Stonehill
in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
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/FranklinPierceRavens).