Ippolito Raps Out Six Hits And Belts Three Run Homer, Mason Pitches In With Solid Relief As Softball Gains Split Of Northeast-10 Doubleheader Wiith Southern New Hampshire By Posting 10-5 Opening Game Victory

April 29, 2007

STONEHILL SOFTBALL

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Gartland Field, Easton, Mass.

GAME #1 FINAL: STONEHILL 10, SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 5

123 456 7 R H E

So. New Hampshire (21-10, 18-7 NE-10) 050 000 0 - 5 9 0

Stonehill (13-22, 12-13 Northeast-10) 005 014 x - 10 13 1

BATTERIES

SNH: Ashley Bernstein, Mary Bradford (6) and Felicia Brum

STO: Kait Mendall, Danielle Mason (3) and Caitlin Flanagan

WP: Mason (3-8) LP: Bernstein (11-3)

Home Runs: SNH – Tara Moriarty (5); STO – Jaime Ippolito (5), Caitlin Flanagan (3)

GAME #2 FINAL: SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 6, STONEHILL 5 (10 INNINGS)

123 456 789 10 R H E

So. New Hampshire (22-10, 19-7 NE-10) 100 013 000 1 - 6 10 2

Stonehill (13-23, 12-14 Northeast-10) 004 010 000 0 - 5 13 1

BATTERIES

SNH: Ashley Smith and Felicia Brum

STO: Katie Mottau, Danielle Mason (7) and Courtney Young

WP: Smith (6-6) LP: Mason (3-9)

EASTON, Mass.-- Junior Jaime Ippolito (Chelsea, Mass.) rapped out three hits and drove in four runs, including a game-tying three-run homer, as Stonehill overcame an early five-run deficit to post a 10-5 opening game victory over Southern New Hampshire in a Northeast-10 Conference softball doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Gartland Field. The visiting Penmen plated a run in the top of the 10th inning of the nightcap under the international tiebreaker to gain a 6-5 triumph and a split of the twinbill.

The host Skyhawks (13-23, 12-14 Northeast-10) spotted Southern New Hampshire (22-10, 19-7 Northeast-10) that 5-0 edge in the second inning of the opener, as a two-run double by junior Ashley Guertin (Manchester, N.H.), a two-run homer off the bat of senior Tara Moriarty (Randolph, Mass.) and an RBI single by sophomore Ashley Bernstein (Stoughton, Mass.) staked the Penmen to the advantage. Stonehill evened matters with five runs of its own in the third, as sophomore Yesenia Marrero (Brockton, Mass.) rapped out a two-run single and Ippolito tied the score with a three-run homer, her fifth of the spring. Junior Caitlin Flanagan's (Cornwall, N.Y.) third round-tripper of the season in the fifth gave the Skyhawks the lead for good at 6-5, and the hosts tacked on four runs in the sixth on a pair of RBI singles by Ippolito and Flanagan as well as a two-run double off the bat of sophomore Meghan Sheehy (East Islip, N.Y.) to account for the final score.

Flanagan and sophomore Kate Brides (West Bridgewater, Mass.) each had two hits as part of a 13-hit attack in the opening game triumph for Stonehill, as junior Danielle Mason (Salisbury, Mass.) picked up the win on the mound in relief for the Skyhawks, allowing just three hits over five innings for her third victory of the spring. Sophomore Nicole Arpin (Cheshire, Conn.) collected three hits in the first contest for Southern New Hampshire, while senior Felicia Brum (Braintree, Mass.) added a pair of hits for the visitors. Sophomore Ashley Bernstein (Stoughton, Mass.) allowed nine hits and six runs over five innings of work to suffer just her third setback in 14 decisions for the Penmen, who saw their 11-game winning streak snapped in the opener.

Southern New Hampshire jumped out to a 1-0 first inning lead in the nightcap when freshman Andrea Clausi (Kingston, N.Y.) drew a bases-loaded walk, but Stonehill plated four runs in the third to take a three-run lead on a two-run single by junior Lauren Rappoli (Wilmington, Mass.), an RBI single by junior Stephanie Folan (Glen Cove, N.Y.) and an error. The two teams traded fifth inning runs, as Arpin's RBI single accounted for the Penmen tally and an error plated the Skyhawk run, but Southern New Hampshire forced extra innings with three runs in the sixth on RBI singles by Guertin, Moriarty and freshman Melissa Pessotti (Burlington, Mass.). The two teams went to the international tiebreaker in the 10th inning, as senior Sandra Lawton's (Woburn, Mass.) sacrifice fly plated Clausi with the winning for the Penmen, with the Skyhawks leaving the potential tying run at third to end the contest.

Moriarty collected three of Southern New Hampshire's 10 hits in the second game, while Bernstein added a pair of hits for the visitors to back senior Ashley Smith (Franklin, N.H.) on the mound, as she went the distance and fanned five to improve to 6-6 on the season. Ippolito rapped out three more hits in the nightcap setback for Stonehill, which also received two hits each from Folan, Rappoli and senior Kristen Demick (East Hampton, Conn.). Mason suffered the tough luck setback on the mound for the Skyhawks, as she pitched hitless relief over the final four innings.

Stonehill closes out its 2007 slate on Monday afternoon when the Skyhawks head to Springfield, Mass. to take on American International in a Northeast-10 doubleheader that begins at 3:00 p.m., while Southern New Hampshire hosts Southern Connecticut in a Northeast-10 twinbill on Tuesday afternoon in Manchester, N.H. that also begins at 3:00 p.m.