Sydney Despres blasts two homers herself in game one to help
send contest to extra innings
MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 5, 2014) – Sophomore
shortstop Courtney Caputo (Stony Brook, N.Y.)
launched a combined three home runs over two games Saturday night
to power the Franklin Pierce University softball team to a
doubleheader sweep of Southern Connecticut State at SNHU Field in
Manchester, N.H. The Ravens won game one, 7-4, on Caputo's
heroics in the eighth inning, while also taking game two by a 4-3
count.
Franklin Pierce improved to 4-8
overall and 3-3 in the Northeast-10, while the Owls dipped to 7-13
and 0-7 in league play.
With the score tied 4-4 in the
bottom of the eighth in game one, Caputo sent a SCSU pitch over the
wall in left field, scoring Tricia Hansen (Mansfield,
Mass.) and Alicia Dean (Danvers, Mass.)
on the play. Dean began the inning with a single, stole second, and
remained on the base after Hansen was able to reach via a
fielder's choice. Caputo followed with the blast that would
carry over for her in game two.
Caputo's eighth inning shot
would not have been possible without another power surge from
freshman catcher Sydney Despres (Sterling, Mass.),
who blasted two homers of her own in game one to tie things up.
Despres' first blast was a two-run shot in the fifth inning
to pull the Ravens to within a run at 4-3. Her second massive blast
was a solo home run over the left-field fence to lead off the
seventh inning to even things up at 4-4.
Caputo finished game one by going
2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Despres was 2-for-3 with a
trio of runs driven in and a pair of runs scored. Also highlighting
the attack were two hits from Hansen, and a 3-for-4 effort from
senior Ashley Noke (Cumberland, R.I.).
Mandi Adee (Kinderhook,
N.Y.) took to the circle for the Ravens in game one, and
after a rough first inning yielding three runs, she settled down
into a nice rhythm to allow the offense to come around. Adee picked
up the win in a complete-game performance by going 8.0 innings
yielding only three earned runs with three strikeouts.
Caputo kept things going
offensively for the Ravens in game two, first by launching a
two-run homer in the first inning, and then sending another two-run
shot over the fence in the fifth to make it 4-1 Franklin
Pierce.
Hansen had a terrific all-around
game for the Ravens in game two by collecting a pair of hits and
scoring a run, while also turning in a strong performance in the
pitching circle to pick up the complete-game victory. She struck
out six and yielded just the three runs on only seven hits and two
walks. Hansen retired the Owls in order in the seventh inning to
lock down the win, including getting Danielle Piazza to strike out
swinging to end it.
Kaley Marden stroked a pair of
doubles for SCSU in game two, while Leanna Feerick went 2-for-3
with a run driven in.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Sunday, as the Ravens will be back at SNHU to take on New Haven in
a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
For more information on Franklin
Pierce softball, please visit the team's page at http://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 http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)
