Tricia Hansen goes 3-for-3 with a triple and a run scored
MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 3, 2013) -- The Franklin Pierce
University softball team could not hold a one-run lead as Saint
Anselm pushed across a run in the fourth inning and three more in
the fifth to pull off a 7-4 come-from-behind win on Wednesday night
on the Southern New Hampshire University campus in Manchester. The
Ravens fell to 2-9 (0-4 Northeast-10, 0-4 Northeast Division),
while the Hawks improved to 6-11 (4-3 NE-10, 3-0 Northeast
Division).
Franklin Pierce jumped out to an
early 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning, as Alicia
Dean (Danvers, Mass.) and Caitlin Murphy
(Braintree, Mass.) came home on a Saint Anselm error to
open the scoring. The Ravens plated the third run with some nifty
base running as they pulled off a double steal with Tricia
Hansen (Mansfield, Mass.) taking second and Megan
Bird (Laconia, N.H.) coming home on a heads up play.
Saint Anselm, though, responded
with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame on a two-run
homer to left field from Julie LeClair. Monique Gauthier also came
home on the blast as she reached base by leading off the inning by
getting hit by a pitch from Hansen.
The Hawks knotted the score at 3-3
in the third as Nicole Boucher doubled to left field to lead off
the inning and eventually came around to score on a Franklin Pierce
error.
The Ravens, however, shook off the
error and plated a run in the fourth inning to go back on top at
4-3. Hansen drew a base on balls to lead off the inning, reached
second on a groundout from Courtney Caputo (Stony Brook,
N.Y.), advanced to third on a wild pitch, and finally
crossed home plate on Melissa Morgan's (Clifton Park,
N.Y.) RBI double to right-center field.
Saint Anselm rallied with a run in
the bottom half of the frame and then exploded for a trio of runs
in the fifth to complete the comeback. Leclair drove in a run with
a single through the left side and Kasey Moran blasted a two-run
triple to left field.
Franklin Pierce could not mount a
rally to tie the game over the final two innings. The Ravens did
put a pair of runners on during each of the final two frames, but
could not come up with a hit to knock them in.
Tayla Trask got the win in the
pitching circle for Saint Anselm, despite yielding four runs (two
earned) on 12 hits over 7.0 innings of work. She struck out two,
but also walked four batters during the game.
Hansen went 3-for-3 in the game
with a triple and the run scored, and also started in the pitching
circle for the Ravens. She went 5.0 innings and struck out five,
but yielded six earned runs on eight hits to suffer the loss to
fall to 0-5 on the year.
Caputo, Morgan, Murphy and
Karissa Forzese (Methuen, Mass.) each collected a
pair of hits on the night for the Ravens.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Thursday when the Ravens travel to take on American International
in Springfield, Mass. in a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 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). Fans wishing to purchase
Franklin Pierce softball apparel can do so on the athletic
department's online store at
athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)
