Rachel Allen tosses complete-game victory in game one
WALTHAM, Mass. (April 13, 2013) -- The Franklin Pierce
University softball team took game one of Saturday's doubleheader
at Bentley and eventually split the twin bill with the Falcons in
Waltham, Mass. The Ravens took game one by a 5-2 count to snap a
seven-game losing streak, but then dropped a tough 2-0 decision in
game two. Franklin Pierce moved to 4-19 overall and 2-14 in the
Northeast-10, including a 1-9 mark in the Northeast Division.
Bentley moved to 9-21 and 5-13 in league play (2-8 NE
Division).
The first game featured a lot of
offense by the Ravens as they pounded out their five runs on 10
hits. Eight of the nine Ravens in the lineup had a hit, including
junior Ashley Noke (Cumberland, R.I.), who had an
outstanding game by going 2-for-4 with both hits going for doubles.
She scored a run and drove in a pair, which came in the first
inning that keyed a four-run frame by the Ravens to take hold and
never look back.
Noke's two-base knock was driven to
center field, which brought home Courtney Caputo (Stony
Brook, N.Y.) and Melissa Morgan (Clifton Park,
N.Y.) on the play. Caputo helped get the rally started by
drawing a lead off walk and Morgan followed two batters later by
roping a single through the left side. Sam Conners
(Jackson, N.J.) followed Noke with an RBI single and the
barrage was capped with Megan Bird's (Laconia,
N.H.) RBI base hit to center, bringing home Noke on the
play.
Senior pitcher Rachel Allen
(Hull, Mass.) made that four-run cushion stand up with a
strong performance in the pitching circle. Allen improved to 3-6 on
the year by going all seven innings and yielding two runs (one
earned) on six hits with two strikeouts and a pair of walks.
She retired the first four batters
she faced and was only touched up by Bentley with a run in both the
second and fifth innings. The second inning run was unearned as the
Falcons scored on a Franklin Pierce fielding error.
The Ravens tacked on an insurance
run in the fourth when Morgan worked a bases loaded walk to force
in Jessica Furtado (Taunton, Mass.), who stroked a
single to lead off the inning.
Both teams pounded out five hits
apiece in game two, but Bentley was able to scratch out a pair of
runs in the fourth. Erica Thibodeau stroked an RBI single, while
Laura McDonough knocked in a run on an RBI sacrifice fly.
Despite taking the loss in the
pitching circle, Franklin Pierce freshman hurler Tricia
Hansen (Mansfield, Mass.) turned in a solid start by going
6.0 innings and yielding just two runs on five hits with seven
strikeouts and no walks. Kelly Ferris scattered five hits over her
7.0 innings of work to earn the victory.
Caputo led Franklin Pierce's
offensive attack with a pair of singles.
Franklin Pierce's home Sunday
doubleheader with Bentley has been postponed and will be
rescheduled at a later date. The Ravens will return to action
Tuesday when they play host to Saint Michael's in a doubleheader
beginning at 3 p.m. on the FPU Softball Field.
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). Fans wishing to purchase
Franklin Pierce softball apparel can do so on the athletic
department's online store at
athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)
