Ravens shut out, 8-0, in front end before falling, 3-2, in the second game

Boxscore Game One
Boxscore Game Two

SMITHFIELD, R.I. (March 27, 2008) – Despite collecting only six hits on the day, Bryant University swept two games from Franklin Pierce University in the Northeast-10 Conference softball opener for both squads at the Bryant Softball Complex on Thursday. The Bulldogs shut out the Ravens in the first game, 8-0, before taking a 3-2 decision in the back end of the doubleheader.

The Bryant offense was paced by senior Jennifer Serrano (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham), who knocked a home run and a double to finish with five runs batted and three runs scored in the two games.

Senior captain Kate Surgen (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) led the Ravens with three hits on the day, as she went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles while adding a walk and a run scored. Freshman Emily Griffin (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) also hit 3-for-6 and scored a run for Franklin Pierce.


Bryant 8, Franklin Pierce 0

In the first game of the afternoon, Bryant turned four hits and four Franklin Pierce errors into eight runs in an 8-0 victory.

Serrano was the only source of offense for Bryant, as she went 1-for-2 with three RBI and two runs scored. Five Ravens each recorded one hit in the game, as neither team could find much offense.

Bryant, however, was able to capitalize on four Raven errors to score five unearned runs against Raven junior Courtney Jacobs (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg), including four in a four-run fourth inning that blew the game open. Jacobs compounded her struggles by making two errors herself in the fourth, allowing two runners to reach base. Serrano provided the big blow of the inning, as she smacked a bases-clearing double to center field that doubled the Bulldogs’ lead from three to six runs.

Jacobs (0-3) lasted four innings for Franklin Pierce, ceding seven runs (only two earned) on just three hits. The junior also struck out five and walked four in taking the loss. Franklin Pierce, meanwhile, got one runner to third base and never saw two runners on the basepaths at the same time against Janine Enos (Wareham, Mass./Wareham), who struck out eight and gave up five hits in six innings.

Bryant 3, Franklin Pierce 2 (Five innings)

Bryant completed the sweep by scoring three times in the top of the first inning and holding off the Ravens for five innings. Bryant scored a fourth run in the top of the sixth inning, but the game was called due to darkness after the half-inning and the score reverted to the final completed inning, the fifth.

Serrano had one of only two hits for Bryant, but her two-run home run was the one big hit of the game for the Bulldogs. She finished 1-for-2 with two RBI and a run scored. Surgen and Griffin each had two hits in three at-bats for Franklin Pierce, while sophomore Kristen Tracy (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Walter Panas) knocked both runners in with her only hit of the game.

Bryant wasted little time in getting on the board in the first inning, as sophomore Kimberly Breton (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) began the game with a walk off Raven freshman Kayla Johnson (Hudson, N.H./Alvirne) and Serrano followed with a two-run homer to center. The Bulldogs loaded the bases later in the inning, eventually scoring the game-winning run on Johnson’s second wild pitch of the frame.

Franklin Pierce got two back in the bottom of the third, but could not get the tying run. After a leadoff ground out by Johnson, Griffin and Surgen stroked back-to-back singles, and Tracy followed with a two-out, two-run single to right that brought the Ravens back to within a run.

The Ravens could not plate another run off Enos, however. The senior threw all five innings, giving up two earned runs on seven hits while striking out three. Johnson (1-3) pitched well for Franklin Pierce, giving up four runs (all earned) on only three hits in six innings of work. She also struck out three while walking six.

Franklin Pierce (1-11, 0-2 NE-10) returns to action on Tuesday with a doubleheader at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell beginning at 3 p.m. Bryant (4-4, 2-0 NE-10) hosts Pace University for two games on Saturday beginning at noon.