Dowling wins both games in final at-bat, 1-0 and 4-3 in nine innings

Boxscore Game One
Boxscore Game Two

BROOKHAVEN, N.Y. (April 6, 2008) – The Franklin Pierce University softball team dropped a pair of heartbreakers to Dowling College in non-conference action on Sunday afternoon at Golden Lions Field. Dowling scored once in the bottom of the seventh to earn a 1-0 win in the first game, then plated one in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 win in the second contest.

Senior Marcie Bodanzio (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) hit 3-for-6 with a run batted in, while junior Stephanie Compeitello (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot) also went 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored to pace the Dowling attack.

Junior Elaine Matthews (Roslindale, Mass./Archbishop Williams) had three hits in eight at-bats to lead Franklin Pierce, while junior Courtney Jacobs (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) and freshman Erin Clark (Fort Ann, N.Y./Fort Ann) each went 2-for-4 with an RBI.


Dowling 1, Franklin Pierce 0

The first game of the day was a classic pitchers’ duel, as Dowling junior Stephanie Plochochi (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) and Raven freshman Kayla Johnson (Hudson, N.H./Alvirne) traded zeroes on the scoreboard until the Golden Lions snuck one run across the plate in the bottom of the seventh to escape with a 1-0 win.

Plochochi (4-6) dominated the Raven hitters, ceding only one hit and striking out 10 in a complete-game, seven-inning effort. Johnson (1-5) was superb in the circle for the Ravens, matching Plochochi for the first six innings before giving up her only run of the day in the seventh frame. She scattered six hits while striking out three and walking four in 6.2 innings.

The Ravens had the first scoring threat of the game in the fourth inning, when freshman Emily Griffin (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) doubled with one out and advanced to third on a wild pitch. But Matthews struck out swinging and junior Stephanie Howard (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) struck out looking to quell the potential rally, and Franklin Pierce did not get another runner on base against Plochochi.

Only one runner reached third base in the first six innings against Johnson, before the Golden Lions broke through in their final at-bat. Compeitello and Plochochi began the rally with consecutive singles and were moved over with a sacrifice bunt by freshman Alyssa O’Brien (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip). After a walk loaded the bases, Johnson got the second out on a fly out before Bodanzio smacked a game-winning single.


Dowling 4, Franklin Pierce 3 (nine innings)

The Ravens out-hit Dowling, 13-10, in the back end of the doubleheader, but an RBI double by O’Brien in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Golden Lions a sweep with a 4-3 extra-inning win.

O’Brien went 2-for-4 with a walk and a pair of RBI to lead the Golden Lions for the game, while Compeitello went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. For Franklin Pierce, Matthews went 3-for-5 at the plate, while Jacobs and Clark each had two hits with an RBI.

Dowling jumped out to a 2-0 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, aided by a prolonged streak of wildness from Jacobs. After a leadoff bunt single by Kacie Pinto (Islip, N.Y./Islip), Jacobs walked three straight batters to force in a run, and O’Brien also worked a walk later in the inning to bring home another run.

After another Jacobs walk turned into a run in the bottom of the third inning to give Dowling a 3-0 lead, the Franklin Pierce offense finally woke up in the sixth inning, scoring three times to knot the score at three. The first six batters of the inning reached base via singles, with Jacobs, Clark and senior Nicole Leary (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) each recording one RBI each. The Ravens could not take the lead, however, as the team could not get another run across the plate despite having the bases loaded with no outs.

Jacobs held Dowling at bay until the ninth inning, as Compeitello worked a leadoff walk and scored on a long double to center field off the bat of O’Brien.

O’Brien’s game-winning hit spoiled a solid outing by Jacobs (0-7), who gave up four earned runs on 10 hits in 8.1 innings. The junior tied a season high with five strikeouts but she also gave up 10 walks, including four in the first inning alone.

Franklin Pierce (1-17, 0-6 NE-10) will return to conference play tomorrow afternoon, when the Ravens host in-state rival Southern New Hampshire University for two games at Lassie League Field in Leominster, Mass. beginning at 3 p.m. Dowling (11-19, 0-2 ECC) hosts Queens College in a doubleheader on Tuesday at 3 p.m