River Hawks notch a 7-6 victory in game one, Skyhawks bounce back in game two, 15-4

Sophomore Jocelynne Morrell went 4-for-7 with six runs batted in, two doubles and one home run in both games this afternoon.

CLERMONT, Fla. (March 16, 2012) – The Stonehill College softball team salvaged a doubleheader split with Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) opponent, UMass Lowell, dropping game one 7-6 while slugging its way to a 15-4 victory in game two at the National Training Center this afternoon.

UMass Lowell 7, Stonehill 6

Senior pitcher Elyssa Boris (Gardner, Mass./Gardner) improved to 8-2 overall on the season on six innings of work, four hits, five runs (two earned), five walks and four strikeouts. Freshman Courtney Lanfranchi (Burlington, Mass./Burlington) notched her first-career collegiate save yielding on one inning pitched, one hit, one run (unearned) and one punchout.

Senior Kellie Reardon (Burlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic)  was handed the loss on five hits, four runs (one earned), one walk and three strikeouts in four innings pitched. Classmate Samantha Krantz (Hampton Bays, N.Y./Hampton Bays) tossed three innings, yielding four hits, three runs (all earned), no walks and two strikeouts. 

In the top of the first inning, senior catcher Lindsi Panarelli (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) gave UMass Lowell a 1-0 lead with a RBI single to left field plating junior second baseman Krista MacKenzie (Ipswich, Mass./Ipswich) from third base. MacKenzie was hit-by-a-pitch to leadoff the contest, stole second base and advanced to third on a balk.

The River Hawks added three more runs in the second inning as senior shortstop Meagan Guy (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) and Boris both deliver run-producing singles to highlight the frame.

After scoring two more runs in the fifth inning, redshirt junior centerfield Ashley Daniels (Medford, Mass./Arlington Catholic) capped UMass Lowell's scoring with a solo homer to left field to lead off the top of the sixth inning pushing the advantage to 7-0.

Stonehill responded with five runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning to cut into the deficit at 7-5.

Sophomore third baseman Jocelynne Morell (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) plated two runs with a double to centerfield, junior left fielder Casey Remick (Norton, Mass./Norton) tacked on a run with a RBI groundout to third base and junior first baseman Nicole Eisenmann (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) drove in a run with a bases loaded walk. The Skyhawks also scored a run on a fielding error.

In the bottom of the seventh, Morrell knocked home Reardon, who reached base on a fielding error, with a double to left field but Stonehill's rally fell short with the tying run stranded at third base.

Reardon went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored and Morrell was 2-for-4 with one run scored and three runs batted in. For UMass Lowell, Panarelli went 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI while Boris and Daniels also collected multi-hit games.

Senior shortstop Chelsea Stryker went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI's in game two for Stonehill.

Stonehill 15, UMass Lowell 4

Stonehill's bats erupted in game two with a nine-run bottom of the first inning to earn a split with the UMass Lowell River Hawks.

Senior Kaitlin Andrews (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) remained undefeated on the season in the circle (3-0) pitching three innings, allowing six hits, three runs (all earned), no walks and one strikeout. Krantz finished out the remaining two innings of the game yielding two hits, one run (earned), no walks and one punchout.

Lanfranchi suffered the loss for UMass Lowell lasting just one inning, giving up eight hits, nine runs (five earned), no walks and two strikeouts. Boris pitched three innings, allowed nine hits, six runs (five earned), issued one free pass and struck out one batter.

In the bottom of the first inning, Eisenmann smacked a RBI double to centerfield, Reardon collected a RBI on an infield single, junior left fielder Kaitlin Miller (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) roped a run-producing single to left field, Morrell crushed a three-run home run, her first of the season, and junior catcher Kelsey Wilcox (Canterbury, Conn./Griswold) plated a run on an infield single to third base to highlight the Skyhawks offensive outburst.

UMass Lowell cut into the deficit with a pair of runs in the third inning and another pair in the fourth, all on home runs. With two outs in the third frame, Boris slugged a two-run shot to left field, her fourth of the season, and junior first baseman Brianna Mahoney (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) and MacKenzie launched solo homers in the fourth inning, respectively, to make it 9-4.

The Skyhawks forced the eventual mercy rule with six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on eight hits. Stonehill finished the contest with 17 hits total.

Senior shortstop Chelsea Stryker (Baldwin, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) had a two-run single to centerfield, junior centerfielder Courtney Marchand (Raymond, N.H./Timberlane Regional) deposited a RBI single to left field, Eisenmann delivered a RBI single to center, Wilcox laced a run-scoring single to left and Reardon notched a RBI single to centerfield.

Six of Stonehill's hitters had multi-hit contests in game two including Stryker (3-for-3, three runs scored, three RBI's), Eisenmann, Wilcox, Reardon, Miller and Morrell (2-for-3, two runs, three RBI's).

Stonehill (6-2, 3-1 NE-10) wraps up its trip to Clermont, Fla. tomorrow with a doubleheader against Millersville University at 9 a.m. and New York Institute of Technology at 11 a.m. UMass Lowell (11-5, 1-1 NE-10) plays Franklin Pierce University in a NE-10 doubleheader tomorrow at the same facility with game one scheduled for 11 a.m.