Flanagan Collects Three Hits And Pair Of RBI, Mason Goes Distance For 11th Win As Softball Gains Split Of Northeast-10 Twinbill At UMass Lowell With 7-2 Nightcap Victory

April 27, 2006

STONEHILL SOFTBALL

Thursday, April 27, 2006

River View Field, Lowell, Mass.

GAME #1 FINAL: UMASS LOWELL 6, STONEHILL 3

123 456 7 R H E

Stonehill (16-18-1, 9-13-1 Northeast-10) 002 100 0 - 3 8 2

UMass Lowell (28-16, 18-5 Northeast-10) 400 200 x - 6 10 0

BATTERIES

STO: Katie Mottau and Courtney Young

UML: Kristen Mahoney, Vikki Guido (7) and Melissa Hanafin

WP: Mahoney (17-4) LP: Mottau (6-7) Save: Guido (4)

GAME #2 FINAL: STONEHILL 7, UMASS LOWELL 2

123 456 7 R H E

Stonehill (17-18-1, 10-13-1 Northeast-10) 105 100 0 - 7 8 0

UMass Lowell (28-17, 18-6 Northeast-10) 020 000 0 - 2 5 1

BATTERIES

STO: Danielle Mason and Caitlin Flanagan

UML: Cyrilla Suker, Vikki Guido (7) and Julie Brodie

WP: Mason (11-6) LP: Suker (9-13)

Home Runs: STO – Caitlin Flanagan (3); UML – Stacey Lajoie (7), Brie O'Brien (2)

LOWELL, Mass.-- Sophomore Caitlin Flanagan (Cornwall, N.Y.) rapped out three hits and drove in a pair of runs as Stonehill gained a split of a Northeast-10 Conference softball doubleheader with UMass Lowell by posting a 7-2 nightcap victory Thursday afternoon at River View Field. The River Hawks took the opener by a 6-3 final.

The visiting Skyhawks (17-18-1, 10-13-1 Northeast-10) overcame an early 2-1 deficit by plating five runs in the third to take a 6-2 edge, as senior Christine Grenache (Leominster, Mass.) led the Stonehill rally with a two-run double. Sophomore Lauren Polselli (Portsmouth, R.I.) added a run-scoring double in the decisive frame as well for the visitors, who also received an RBI single off the bat of freshman Yesenia Marrero (Brockton, Mass.). Flanagan's solo homer in the fourth, her third of the season, capped the scoring for the Skyhawks, as sophomore Danielle Mason (Salisbury, Mass.) went the distance in scattering five hits and fanning five on the mound for Stonehill to pick up her 11th victory on the season. The win also snapped the host River Hawks' (28-17, 18-6 Northeast-10) nine-game win streak in the series between the two schools, as the last Skyhawk triumph over UMass Lowell came on April 28, 2001 by a 2-1 final.

The River Hawks used three doubles in the first inning of the opener to take a 4-0 lead, as a two-run double by freshman Stacey Lajoie (Gardner, Mass.), coupled with RBI two-baggers by junior Melissa Hanafin (Burlington, Mass.) and sophomore Brie O'Brien (Los Angeles, Calif.), gave UMass Lowell its early edge. Stonehill answered back with a pair of runs in the third on a two-run single by sophomore Jaime Ippolito (Chelsea, Mass.) and closed to with one in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk to sophomore Stephanie Folan (Glen Cove, N.Y.), but UMass Lowell plated a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the inning on a two-run double off the bat of junior Laurie Tanguay (Lowell, Mass.) to close out the scoring. Lajoie, O'Brien and Hanafin each rapped out two hits in the win for the River Hawks, as junior Kristen Mahoney (Burlington, Mass.) allowed eight hits and struck out five over six innings to improve to 17-4 on the season, with junior Vikki Guido (Winchester, Mass.) pitching a scoreless seventh to earn her fourth save. Ippolito, Polselli and freshman Katie Mottau (Woonsocket, R.I.) each had two hits in the opening game set for Stonehill, as Mottau allowed four earned runs over six innings in falling to 6-7 on the mound for the Skyhawks.

Stonehill hosts Saint Michael's in a Northeast-10 doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Gartland Field beginning at 2:00 p.m., while UMass Lowell heads to Springfield, Mass. on Sunday afternoon to take on American International in a Northeast-10 twinbill that begins at Noon.