Junior Lindsay McKillop led the way for Stonehill, going 1-for-2 with a RBI (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Three run second enough as Saint Anselm takes regular season finale

EASTON, Mass. (April 28, 2013) – The Stonehill College softball team fell to the Saint Anselm College Hawks, 3-2 in the regular season finale Sunday afternoon at the South Athletic Field on the campus of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.

Senior pitcher Shannon Dalton (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) pitched six innings, giving up two runs (zero earned) on four hits, while striking out six batters to earn the victory for the Hawks. Sophomore Tayla Trask (Lincoln, Maine/Mattanawcook Academy) pitched a hitless, scoreless seventh inning to collect the save for Saint Anselm.

Junior Lindsay McKillop (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) was saddled with the loss for Stonehill. The junior pitched 2.1 innings, yielding three earned runs on seven hits and one walk. Freshman Lauren Esposito (Middlefield, Conn./Coginchaug) relieved McKillop and pitched 2.2 scoreless innings for the Skyhawks. Esposito held the Hawks to a single hit in the outing.

Junior Monique Gauthier (Canton, Conn./Canton) paced the offense for Saint Anselm. Gauthier went 2-for-3 with two singles and one RBI. Pattie Turner (Warwick, R.I./Toll Gate) and Hannah Byrne (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Classical) also knocked in runs for the Hawks on the day.

McKillop piloted Stonehill's offense on the afternoon. The junior pitcher/first baseman posted one hit and one RBI for the Skyhawks in the loss. Juniors Jocelynne Morrell (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) and Angela Moskwa (West Suffield, Conn./Suffield) and freshman Megan Staudle (New Windsor, N.Y./Cornwall Central) collected the other hits for Stonehill in the contest.

After two scoreless innings to start the game, the Hawks got three runs in the third to take the lead. With the bases loaded and one out, Turner knocked in the first run of the game when she hit a RBI-single through the left side. Gauthier followed with a RBI-single to left field and Byrne made it 3-0 when she singled up the middle to drive in a run.

Stonehill fought back with two runs in the sixth inning to cut the Hawks' lead to one. Moskwa started the inning with a pinch-hit single to center field. After Staudle singled through the left side, Eisenmann reached on an error by the left fielder to score Stonehill's first run. McKillop then drove in Staudle when she hit a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 3-2.

That was as close as Stonehilll would get, as Trask came in and retired the Skyhawks in the seventh to clinch the victory for Saint Anselm.

With the loss Stonehill finishes the regular season with a 24-24-1 record. The Skyhawks open postseason play Tuesday afternoon when they travel back to Manchester for a meeting with Saint Anselm (22-20, 17-12) at 3:00 pm.

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