Erin Wood smacks two-run homer in game two
SMITHFIELD, R.I. (March 29, 2014) – The Franklin
Pierce University softball team put together a pair of strong
performances on Saturday versus Assumption, including picking up a
convincing 10-1 win in game one (5 innings), followed by a solid
showing in a narrow 4-3 setback in game two. The doubleheader was
held at Conaty Park in Smithfield, R.I. on the campus of Bryant
University.
Franklin Pierce moved to 2-6
overall and 1-1 in the Northeast-10 (1-1 Northeast Division), while
Assumption moved to 7-7 and 1-1 in league play (1-1 NE
Division).
Sophomore hurler Mandi Adee
(Kinderhook, N.Y.) allowed just one run and scattered six
hits over 5.0 innings of work to earn the win to improve to 1-3 on
the year. She got off to a shaky start in the first by yielding a
run, and then worked herself into a jam in the second by putting
runners on first and second with no one out.
However, the Ravens came up huge
defensively for her, first with Alicia Dean (Danvers,
Mass.) turning a double play on catching a bunt pop-up,
and then throwing back to first base to get a Greyhound runner
straying too far from the bag, and not getting back in time before
the tag. A flyout capped the inning, and Franklin Pierce turned its
fortunes around from there.
The Ravens exploded for four runs
in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by a three-run homer from
junior outfielder Jamie Wiley (Cape Vincent,
N.Y.), who deposited a fastball deep over the wall in left
field, scoring Karissa Forzese (Methuen, Mass.)
and Ashley Noke (Cumberland, R.I.) on the play.
Forzese tied the game up at 1-1 earlier in the frame with an RBI
single through the left side.
Franklin Pierce wasn't done,
and tacked on four more in the next inning, including a two-run
double by Noke, an RBI single from Tricia Hansen
(Mansfield, Mass.), and an RBI from Dean, who drew a bases
loaded walk.
The Ravens put the eight-run rule
into effect in the fourth inning as Wiley drew another bases loaded
walk to force in a run, while Hansen roped a single back up through
the middle to bring home Melissa Morgan (Clifton Park,
N.Y.).
Adee made short work of the
Greyhounds in the fifth, as she retired all three batters she faced
on just six pitches to end the game early.
Hansen finished game one by going
3-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Morgan, Noke, and Forzese each scored
twice.
Franklin Pierce took the momentum
from game one, and brought it into game two, scoring twice in the
first off a two-run blast from Erin Wood (Dover,
N.Y.). Wood's homer also brought home Hansen, who
led off the frame with a walk.
In addition to batting leadoff,
Hansen started in the pitching circle and stifled
Assumption's hitters all afternoon. She retired six of the
first seven batters she faced, as the Greyhounds could not find a
groove against her in the early going.
The Ravens tacked on another run in
the third, and Hansen continued her outstanding stuff in the
circle, but it all came undone in the top of the seventh as
Assumption plated four to take a 4-3 lead. Ashley Abad singled in
the first run, and Andrea Crowley followed by sending the first
pitch she saw over the fence in left field.
The Ravens couldn't muster a
threat in the seventh, as Assumption completed the come-from-behind
win.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Wednesday when the Ravens take on Saint Anselm at a neutral site in
North Andover, Mass. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 3
p.m., followed by game two at 5 p.m.
For more information on Franklin
Pierce softball, please visit the team's page at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu. To follow the
department 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 http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)
