Senior Nicole Eisenmann went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, and two RBI for the Skyhawks in game one (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 27, 2013) – The Stonehill College softball split a pair of games with the Saint Anselm College Hawks, 7-1 and 3-2, Saturday afternoon at the St. Anselm Athletic Fields in Manchester, N.H.
Stonehill 7, Saint Anselm 1
Eisenmann's two RBI leads Stonehill to the game one victory.
Senior Nicole Eisenmann (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) went 3-for-3 with a single, a double, a triple, and two RBI. Senior Kelsey Wilcox (Canterbury, Conn./Griswold), junior Lindsay McKillop (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow), and freshman Megan Staudle (New Windsor, N.Y./New Windsor) also registered RBIs for Stonehill.
Junior Nicole Boucher (Woonsocket, R.I./Woonsocket) paced the offense for Saint Anselm in game one. The junior collected two hits for the Hawks. Senior Lauren Galavotti (Marion, Mass./Old Rochester Regional) and sophomore Kasey Moran (Medford, Mass./Medford) also posted hits for the Hawks.
Freshman Megan Ruonavaara (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill) pitched very well for Stonehill to earn her 14th win of the season. Ruonavaara held the Hawks to one run (unearned) on four hits and two walks. Ruonavaara struck out one batter, getting the majority of her outs on fly balls.
Tayla Trask (Lincoln, Maine/Mattanawcook Academy) was tagged with the loss for Saint Anselm. Trask yielded seven runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks. The Hawks' starter collected five strikeouts in the outing.
Stonehill got the scoring started quickly, with three runs in the top of the first inning. With runners second and third, McKillop reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Staudle from third. Two batters later Wilcox reached on an error by the shortstop, scoring Eisenmann and McKillop to give Stonehill a 3-0 lead.
The Skyhawks added two more runs in the fifth inning to extend their lead to five. Courtney Marchand (Raymond, N.H./Timberlane) got it started when she singled to left field. Staudle made it 4-0 when she drove in Marchand with a RBI-double to center field. Eisenmann made it a five-run lead when she followed with a RBI-double of her own to score Staudle.
Saint Anselm got one back in the bottom of the second to cut Stonehill's lead to four. With runners on second and third, following two errors by the Stonehill defense, Olivia Story (Middleton, Mass./Masconomet) scored the runner on third when she grounded out to second base. That was if for the Hawks in the inning as the defense gunned down a runner at third base to end the inning.
Stonehill made it a 7-1 in the top of the fifth. Staudle got things started when she reached on a bunt single to the pitcher. The next batter, Eisenmann, roped a RBI-triple down the right field line to plate Staudle for Stonehill's sixth run. Three batters later, Wilcox grounded out to first base, plating Christina Swider (Hebron, Conn./RHAM) who pinch-ran for Eisenmann, and making it 7-1.
Freshman Megan Ruonavaara pitched a complete game and earned her 14th win of the season for Stonehill in game one (PHOTO BY Richard Orr). |
Ruonavaara found a groove for Stonehill and retired six of the final seven batters she faced to close out the Hawks for her 14th win of the season.
With the victory Stonehill sealed a playoff berth for the second cosecutive season and third time in four years.
Saint Anselm 3, Stonehill 2
Turner's RBI-single in the fifth helps Saint Anselm earn the game two victory,
Sophomore Paige Cormier (Rochester, N.H./Spaulding) pitched a complete game, giving up two runs to earn the victory for the Hawks. Cormier held Stonehill to six hits and no walks, while striking out four batters in the win.
McKillop was saddled with the loss for Stonehill in game two. The junior yielded three runs (two earned) on seven hits and one walk. McKillop struck out two batters in the outing.
Saint Anselm got the scoring started when they got a run in the bottom of the first. Boucher led off the inning with a solo home run to center field, putting the Hawks up 1-0.
Stonehill responded two innings later, taking Cormier for two runs to grab a 2-1 lead. With runners on second and third and one out, Staudle reached on an error by the third baseman, scoring two and giving Stonehill its first lead of the game.
The Skyhawks held the lead until the fifth inning, when the Hawks scored two runs. With the bases loaded and no outs, Galavotti knotted the score when she hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Freshman Pattie Turner (Warwick, R.I./Toll Gate) broke the tie when she hit a RBI-single down the left field line.
That was all Cormier needed as she retired six of the final seven batters she faced to clinch the win for Saint Anselm.
Stonehill (24-23-1, 16-11-1 NE-10) and Saint Anselm (21-20, 16-12 NE-10) complete this three-game series when they meet tomorrow afternoon at 12:00 pm.
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