Jayme Bilafer smacks RBI double in game two for the Ravens
BRIARCLIFF, N.Y. (April 15, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce
University softball team's struggles continued on Sunday as the
Ravens were swept in a doubleheader at Pace in Briarcliff, N.Y. The
Ravens dropped both games in five innings, including an 8-0 setback
in game one and a 10-2 defeat in game two. Franklin Pierce dipped
to 9-24 overall and 7-17 in the Northeast-10, while the Setters
improved to 26-14 and 13-11 in league play.
Pace set the tone for the day with
two runs in the first inning of game one, but then exploded for
five more in the fifth to seal the first win. Natalie Gellos went
2-for-2 with a double and a home run, while driving in two runs and
scoring a pair. Her homer was a two-run shot in the first, also
scoring Jeane Drury on the play, who singled earlier in the
frame.
Samantha Garcia went 2-for-3,
including smacking a grand slam to highlight the five-run fifth
inning. Lauren Bell went 2-for-2 with a double and a run
scored.
Chelsea Shea earned the win in the
pitching circle for Pace as she improved to 5-4 on the season after
going 4.0 innings, yielding just one hit with six strikeouts.
For the third-straight game,
Franklin Pierce managed just three hits as junior Jessica
Furtado (Taunton, Mass.), senior Rachel
Baxter (Cumberland, R.I.) and freshman Alyssa
Dolson (Northbridge, Mass.) each stroked a single.
Rachel Allen (Hull,
Mass.) suffered the loss in the circle for Franklin Pierce
as she fell to 3-11 after allowing seven runs on seven hits over
2.2 innings of work.
Franklin Piece swung the bats
better in the second game as Furtado, freshman Alicia Dean
(Danvers, Mass.) and senior Jayme Bilafer
(Concord, Mass.) each collected a pair of hits, including
a double apiece for Furtado and Bilafer.
After a second-inning homer by Hana
Wright staked Pace to a 1-0 lead, the Ravens countered with a pair
of runs in the third to go up by a run. Dean singled to lead off
the inning and came around to score two batters later as Bilafer
smoked a double to center field. Furtado was next up at the dish
and she too sent a double to center, plating Bilafer for the
go-ahead run.
Pace, though, responded in the
bottom of the third with a two-run homer by Drury to retake the
lead at 3-2. The Setters then put the game out of reach with six
tallies in the fourth to go up 9-2. The highlights of the fourth
inning for Pace were a three-run double from Sabrina Gonzalez and
Drury following with another two-run shot. The Setters tacked on a
run in the fifth to set the eight-run rule and cap the win.
Shea came on in relief in game two
and pitched the final two innings to earn the win and run her
record to 6-4. She yielded just two hits in her second appearance
of the day. Kaitlyn Johnson (New Boston, N.H.)
started for Franklin Pierce and lasted just 3.2 innings, yielding
nine runs on nine hits to fall to 4-8 on the year.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Tuesday when the Ravens play host to Southern New Hampshire in a
doubleheader in Rindge 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).
