Sophomore Samantha Krantz got the ball rolling for a strong pitching afternoon for the Skyhawks with a complete game win in game one, allowing just a first inning run while striking out a season-high seven.

Pitching Leads Stonehill Sweep of Franklin Pierce

Freshman bats, Krantz arm leads Skyhawks to 5-1 win in game one
Reardon and Mendall combine for five-hit shutout in 3-0 game two win

EASTON, Mass. (April 7, 2010) – Stonehill College allowed just one run behind strong performances from three pitchers to sweep a doubleheader from Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 Conference softball action at Fr. William Gartland, C.S.C., Field this afternoon. The Skyhawks posted a 5-1 victory in game one, before blanking the Ravens 3-0 in game two.

Sophomores Samantha Krantz (Hampton Bays, N.Y./Hampton Bays) and Kellie Reardon (Burlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic) turned in two sparkling starting pitching performances for Stonehill, while senior Kait Mendall (Middleboro, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) turned in a shutout relief appearance as the trio held Franklin Pierce scoreless over the final 13 innings of the doubleheader, yielding just nine hits over the two games and only one earned run which came in the top of the first inning of game one.

Freshman Nicole Eisenmann (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) paced Stonehill’s offense which racked up 17 hits over the course of the afternoon as she hit a combined 4-for-6 with two RBI. Junior Ashley Langlois (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) was 3-for-6 on the afternoon with a double and run scored.

Sophomore Jayme Bilafer (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) had three of Franklin Pierce’s nine hits on the afternoon, finishing a combined 3-for-4 with a stolen base and double.

Stonehill 5, Franklin Pierce 1 (Game One)
Boxscore

Stonehill erased a 1-0 deficit after a half inning of play, scoring five unanswered runs behind the bats of Nicole Eisenmann and freshman Courtney Marchand (Danville, N.H./Timberlane), while Samantha Krantz settled in after the first in the circle.

Freshman Nicole Eisenmann was 3-for-3 with two RBI in the Skyhawks game one win.

Marchand finished 2-for-4 with a double, home run, two runs scored and two RBI, while Eisenmann batted 3-for-3 with two RBI. Ashley Langlois hit 2-for-3 with a double and run scored. Sophomore Chelsea Stryker (Baldwin, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) chipped in by going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and a run scored.

Krantz picked up the complete game win (4-4), allowing just the one earned run on four hits with a season-high seven strikeouts and a walk over the seven innings.

Freshman Aimee Lamoureux (East Brookfield, Mass./David Prouty) led Franklin Pierce as she hit 1-for-3 with a stolen base and RBI. Junior Emily Griffin (Leominster, N.H./Leominster) was also 1-for-3, scoring a run, while freshman Jessica Furtado (Taunton, Mass./Taunton) finished 1-for-2 with a walk.

Junior Kayla Johnson (Hudson, N.H./Alvirne) took the loss for the Ravens (2-7), yielding four earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 1.1 innings. Freshman Rachel Allen (Hull, Mass./Hull) allowed just an earned run on three hits with three strikeouts and no walks in 4.2 innings of relief.

Franklin Pierce struck first with a run in the top of the first as Griffin led off with a lined single up the middle and later scored on a single down the right field line by Lamoureux. Stonehill answered right away with a pair in the home half when Marchand led off with a double, followed by a bunt single by Stryker before Eisenmann drove them in with a two-run single to left center with one out.

Stonehill extended its lead in the second as Marchand followed up a leadoff single up the middle by freshman Kaitlin Miller (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) with her first collegiate home run to left center. The Skyhawks added a single run in the third when Langlois led off with a double and later scored when Miller grounded into a double play.

Krantz settled in after allowing the single Franklin Pierce run in the first by retiring nine-straight batters following Lamoureux’s RBI single, yielding just a pair two-out singles after the first. She retired 19 of the last 21 batters she faced over the final 6.1 innings.

Stonehill 3, Franklin Pierce 0 (Game Two)
Boxscore

Kellie Reardon and Kait Mendall combined to fire a five-hit shutout to lead Stonehill to the 3-0 win in the nightcap.

Reardon scattered five hits over her five innings to pick up the win (1-1), striking out one and walking none. Mendall faced the minimum in two hitless innings of relief to earn her first save of the season (second career), striking out two of the six batters she faced.

Sophomore Kellie Reardon scattered five hits over five shutout innings in game two for her first win in the circle.

Junior Katy Abarr (Richmond, R.I./The Prout School) led Stonehill at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Chelsea Stryker hit 1-for-3 with a stolen base and RBI, while Kaitlin Miller batted 1-for-2 with a run scored.

Jayme Bilafer had three of Franklin Pierce’s five hits in the contest, finishing 3-for-3 with a double and stolen base.

Sophomore Jessica Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y./Thousand Islands) took the loss (4-3) in a complete game effort in the circle for the Ravens, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with a strikeout and a walk.

Franklin Pierce left runners on base in each of the first three innings, including one in scoring position in the first and third, but Stonehill got on the board first with a single run in the third. Miller singled up the middle with one out and then scored on a single up the middle from Stryker with two out after advancing to second on a wild pitch.

Franklin Pierce put the first two runners on base in the sixth on a Bilafer single and then sophomore Meaghan O’Neal (Littleton, Mass./Littleton) reached on an error. Marchand entered the game and got the first out when O’Neal was called out for runner’s interference on a ground ball to first by Jessica Furtado. Marchand then stranded the two runners with two-straight fly outs to center.

Stonehill got two insurance runs in the home half the sixth as freshman Kelsey Wilcox (Canterbury, Conn./Griswold) and Eisenmann reached with singles to lead off the frame and then their pinch runners came around to score on a double down the left field line by Abarr with one out. Mendall retired the Ravens in order, striking out two, in the seventh to nail down the Skyhawks third win over their last four outings.

Stonehill (9-9-1, 4-4 NE-10) returns to action on Saturday when it visits American International College for an NE-10 doubleheader starting at noon. The Skyhawks return home on Saturday, April 17, to host Southern Connecticut State University for a Conference twin bill starting at noon. Franklin Pierce (8-13, 3-5 NE-10) hosts Saint Anselm College tomorrow at 3 p.m.