Junior Jocelynne Morrell posted two hits for Stonehill in game one |
LOWELL, Mass. (April 10, 2013) – The Stonehill College Softball team dropped a double-header to the UMass Lowell River Hawks in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup Wednesday afternoon in Lowell, Mass.
UMass Lowell 3, Stonehill 1
Three-run third enough as UMass Lowell takes game one.
Sophomore Abby Jamieson (Billerica, Mass./Austin Prep) hit 2-for-3 with two RBI to lead the way for the River Hawks in game one. Senior Krista MacKenzie (Ipswich, Mass./Ipswich) added an RBI with a solo home run for UMass Lowell.
Senior Nicole Eisenmann (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) paced Stonehill's offense in game one. Eisenmann went 1-for-3 with an RBI for the Skyhawks. Juniors Jocelynne Morrell (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) and Lindsay McKillop (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) also recorded hits for Stonehill in the loss.
Freshman Marielle Handley (Durham, Conn./Coginchaug) pitched a complete game to earn the victory for the River Hawks. Handley gave up an unearned on four hits, while striking out three in the win.
Freshman Megan Ruonavaara (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill) was tagged with her first loss in her last 10 appearances. Ruonavaara went the distance, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk. Ruonavaara claimed three strikeouts in the loss.
The River Hawks opened the scoring in the third inning. With two outs, MacKenzie stepped to the plate with two outs and belted her first home run of the season over the right field wall. Three batters later, with runners on second and third, Jamieson roped a two-run single to left field to make it 3-0.
The Skyhawks responded with one run in the top of the sixth. With senior Courtney Marchand (Raymond, N.H., Timberlane Regional) on first after she reached on an error, Eisenmann hit an RBI-double to right field, plating Marchand for the first Stonehill run.
Handley held strong though, getting out of the jam in the sixth before clinching the victory in the seventh.
UMass Lowell 5, Stonehill 4
Lowell gets two runs to walk off in the seventh.
Senior Brianna Mahoney (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) registered a 1-for-2 performance and drove in two runs to lead the River Hawks in game two. Sophomore Melissa King (Stamford, Conn./Stamford) also registered an RBI for the River Hawks.
Senior Nicole Eisenmann hit an RBI-double and a two-run home run for the Skyhawks on the day |
Eisenmann again led the Skyhawks offense in game two. The senior went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Freshman Megan Staudle (New Windsor, N.Y./New Windsor) had three hits and an RBI of her own for Stonehill in the loss.
Handley pitched 6.2 innings to earn her second win of the day for Lowell. The freshman yielded four earned runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out four. Freshman Hailey Terrien (Rochdale, Mass./Leicester) came in and recorded one out in the fifth inning for Handley.
Eisenmann was tagged with the loss in game two. She went two-thirds of an inning and was charged with two unearned runs on four hits. Freshman Lauren Esposito (Middlefield, Conn./Coginchaug) started for Stonehill and went 5.1 innings, earning a no decision. The freshman gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks.
Stonehill jumped on the board first with two runs in the top of the fourth After Staudle reached base with a lead-off single, Eisenmann launched her eighth home run of the season to make it 2-0.
In the bottom of the inning, the River Hawks responded with a run of their own. With a runner on third and two outs, Mahoney singled to the shortstop to score a run and make it 2-1.
The Skyhawks added two more runs in the fifth to make it 4-1. Following three straight singles to open the inning, freshman Alison Sumski (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) drove in the third run of the game when she grounded out to the shortstop. Staudle then earned an RBI when she singled to third base, making it 4-1 Skyhawks.
UMass Lowell fought back in the sixth with two runs. With the bases loaded and one out, Mahoney hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring the River Hawks' second run. The next batter, King, made it 4-3 when she singled to center field.
Down by one in the bottom of the seventh, the River Hawks scored two runs to earn the victory. After the first three batters reached base, the next batter reached on an error by the second baseman that scored the tying and winning runs for Lowell.
The Skyhawks (18-17, 5-3 NE-10 Northeast) return to action at 12:00 pm on Saturday for a double-header at Southern New Hampshire University. Next up for UMass Lowell (14-17, 6-2 NE-10 Northeast) is a Saturday afternoon double-header at Saint Anselm, set to begin at 12:00 pm.
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