Sophomore Megan Ruonavaara led Stonehill at the plate today, as she went 4-for-7 with a double, a grand slam, and five RBI. |
Skyhawks squander large leads late in both ends of doubleheader sweep
RINDGE, N.H. (April 19, 2014) – For the second time in three days, the Stonehill College softball team fell victim to a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Franklin Pierce University at the Bisaccia Complex. Stonehill lost today's opener, 6-5, in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play, before dropping the second contest, 10-9, in non-conference action.
Sophomore Megan Ruonavaara (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill) powered Stonehill's offense, as she went 4-for-7 with a double, a grand slam, and five RBI, while classmate Alison Sumski (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) was 4-for-9 with two runs and one RBI. Senior Jocelynne Morrell (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) went 4-for-6 at the plate with two RBI, and freshman Michelle Carbone (Deer Park, N.Y./St. Anthony's) added three hits and two RBI.
Franklin Pierce was led by junior Jamie Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y./Thousand Islands), who went 5-for-7 with a double, one RBI and three runs. Sophomore Courtney Caputo (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) went 4-for-8 and also had a double, one RBI and three runs, and classmate Melissa Morgan (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) was 4-for-8 with a triple, two runs and two RBI.
Ruonavaara started the contest in the circle and went six innings but did not earn a decision after giving up three runs on nine hits to go with three walks and two strikeouts. Carbone took the loss, as she allowed three runs on four hits in 0.2 innings.
Sophomore Mandi Adee (Kinderhook, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) picked up the win for the Ravens after going the distance and allowing five runs (four earned) on 11 hits while striking out three and walking two.
Stonehill built up a 4-0 lead after two innings on an RBI singles by Carbone and Sumski, as well as a two-run single by Morrell. Franklin Pierce got one run back in the third on an RBI single by Wiley, but the Skyhawks regained a four-run lead in the fifth.
Trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh, the Ravens scored five times to earn an improbable walk-off victory. Sophomore Erin Wood (Dover, N.Y./Dover) led off the frame with a solo home run, and the next two batters singled. After Carbone recorded the first out of the inning, Wiley plated another run with a double to bring the Ravens to within one run. Two batters later, freshman Megan Gardiner (Vernon, Conn./Rockville) doubled to right field, scoring the game-tying and winning runs.
Sophomore Alison Sumski went 4-for-9 with one RBI and two runs as Stonehill dropped two games to Franklin Pierce. |
Stonehill lost its second consecutive one-run game in the second contest of the day after holding a 7-3 lead through four frames. Sumski and Morrell again led the offense with two hits each, while Ruonavaara went 3-for-3 with a double, a grand slam, and five RBI.
Wiley, Caputo, and senior Ashley Noke (Cumberland, R.I./Cumberland) had two hits apiece for Franklin Pierce, and Morgan went 3-for-4 with a triple and one RBI.
Stonehill again took an early 4-0 lead, this time with four runs coming in the top of the first. After Morrell and Carbone singled and Staudle was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Ruonavaara plated four runs with a grand slam to left field. Franklin Pierce got one run back in the second, but Stonehill would go up 7-1 with two runs in the third and another in the fourth.
The Ravens mounted their comeback in the bottom of the fourth, when they scored a pair of runs on a two-run single by Noke, before putting six more on the board in the fifth to take a 9-7 lead. The six-run inning was highlighted by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Noke, an RBI single by Morgan, and a three-run double by sophomore Morgan Cahill (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs).
Stonehill fought back and tied the contest in the top of the seventh on RBI hits by sophomores Cayleigh McCarthy (Norfolk, Mass./King Phillip) and Lauren Esposito (Middlefield, Conn./Coginchaug), but Franklin Pierce walked off with the win in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Gardiner, her second walk-off hit of the afternoon.
Stonehill (18-18, 13-8 NE-10) will look to snap its four-game skid on Monday, when the Skyhawks are scheduled to play a pair of games at Merrimack College. Franklin Pierce (9-17, 7-11 NE-10) will be back in action on Tuesday with a 3 p.m. contest at Saint Michael's College.
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