Senior Katy Abarr belted a pair of home runs on Wednesday afternoon, including a two-run blast with two out in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings in game one (Photo courtesy Samantha Krantz) |
Warriors score three in tenth to claim 7-4 win in game one after Stonehill rally
Skyhawks blast three home runs to fuel 7-5 victory in nightcap
Senior Katy Abarr (Richmond, R.I./The Prout School) paced the Stonehill offense as she hit a combined 3-for-7 with a pair of home runs, four runs scored and three RBI. Freshman Christina Swider (Hebron, Conn./RHAM) went 3-for-5 with a walk and a run scored, while senior Ashley Langlois (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) hit 2-for-4 with a pair of walks, an RBI and run scored.
Senior Jamie Millett (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) led Merrimack by hitting a combined 3-for-8 with a double, run scored and four RBI. Freshman Keaira Monet Perry (Bellingham, Mass./Bellingham Memorial) was 4-for-9, while junior Monique Gosselin (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic) contributed two home runs and three RBI.
Merrimack scored three times in the top of the tenth inning to hold on to a 7-4 victory over Stonehill in an extra innings game one. The Skyhawks forced extra inning by rallying from a 4-1 deficit with two out in the bottom of the seventh.
Keaira Monet Perry paced Merrimack's offense as she hit 4-for-5, while Monique Gosselin went 1-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI. Sophomore Tawny Palmieri (Peabody, Mass./Peabody) batted 1-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Jamie Millett was 1-for-4 with an RBI and run scored.
Sophomore Kelli Jo Deardorff (Bedford, Mass./Shawsheen Valley Tech) went the distance in the circle for Merrimack to earn the win (13-9), allowing four earned runs on nine hits with 12 strikeouts and two walks over ten innings.
Christina Swider hit 2-for-3 for Stonehill, while senior Chelsea Stryker (Baldwin, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) went 2-for-5 with a run scored. Sophomore Kelsey Wilcox (Canterbury, Conn./Griswold) was 2-for-5, with Katy Abarr going 1-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored.
Freshman Christina Swider collected three hits on the afternoon, going 2-for-3 at the plate in game one. |
Junior Samantha Krantz (Hampton Bays, N.Y./Hampton Bays) took the loss (1-6) in relief for Stonehill, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks over 4.2 innings. Classmate Kaitlin Andrews (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) started and yielded four runs, just one earned, on seven hits with two strikeouts and no walk in 5.1 innings.
Merrimack opened a 4-0 lead after three innings of play. Gallant homered with two out in the top of the second to open the scoring and then Millett doubled the lead with a sacrifice fly to spark a three run third. Gosselin followed with her first home run of the day to drive in a pair.
Stonehill started chipping away in the fourth as Abarr led off with a walk and later scored on a single to center by Ashley Langlois. Deardorff retired the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh, but Stryker kept the inning alive with a single and scored on a double by sophomore Kaitlin Miller (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy). Abarr knotted the score with her first home run of the afternoon.
Neither team could get any offense until the tenth, when the international tiebreaker took affect with a runner placed on second to start the inning. Palmieri put Merrimack in front for good with a two-run double and then scored on a sac fly by Gosselin.
Stonehill bounced back from the tough loss in game one and belted three home runs on its way to a 7-5 win in game two.
Sophomore Casey Remick went 2-for-3 with a run scored in game two for the Skyhawks. |
Katy Abarr was 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored for Stonehill, while sophomore Casey Remick (Norton, Mass./Norton) went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Christina Swider finished 1-for-2 with a run scored. Kelsey Wilcox batted 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI, while sophomore Nicole Eisenmann (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) hit 1-for-3 with a homer.
Junior Kellie Reardon (Burlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic) picked up the win (1-3) in relief for Stonehill, allowing an earned run on two hits with a strikeout and no walks over 2.1 innings. Freshman Lindsay McKillop (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) retired all three batters she faced in the seventh to earn her third save of the year.
Jamie Millett finished 2-for-4 at the plate for Merrimack with a double and three RBI. Monique Gosselin hit 1-for-3 with her second home run of the day, while senior Kara Melillo (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) batted 1-for-4 with an RBI.
Sophomore Alie Thomas (Bedford, N.H./Trinity) took the loss (3-1) in the circle for Merrimack, allowing seven runs, six earned, on nine hits with two strikeouts and two walks over 5.2 innings.
Stonehill struck first in its opening at bat as Abarr reached on a fielder's choice after Swider walked with one out. Wilcox followed with her Conference leading 11th home run of the season to right center to give the Skyhawks an early 2-0 edge. Merrimack answered right back with three in the second as Millett delivered a two-out three run double to right.
Stonehill knotted the score in the home half of the second when Langlois singled through the right side with two out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and then scored on a double to right by freshman Nicole Schneider (Hillsdale, N.J./Pascack Valley). Merrimack regained the lead in the third as Gosselin led off the frame with her eighth homer of the year.
Stonehill tied it again in the bottom of the third as Swider led off with a single to left and scored on a ground out. The Skyhawks regained the lead in the fifth with Abarr's second homer of the day (fourth of the season) to left with two out. Stonehill added two insurance runs in the sixth as Eisenmann smacked her fifth home run of the year to center and then Remick singled and later scored when Chelsea Stryker reached on an error.
Merrimack threatened in the seventh, putting the first two runners on base. Palmieri led off with a single and later scored on a ground out, but McKillop sat down all three batters she faced to seal the win.