Howard hits first home run of season for Ravens

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

LOWELL, Mass. (March 31, 2009) – Freshman designated player Lindsi Panarelli (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) clubbed a walk-off grand slam on Tuesday afternoon to lead Massachusetts Lowell to an 8-5 victory over the Franklin Pierce University softball team in the second game of a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader at River View Field. Massachusetts Lowell also won the first game of the day, 4-1. Senior shortstop Stephanie Howard (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) hit a three-run home run, the first of the season for Franklin Pierce, in the second game.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring in the first game with a run in the top of the first inning. Senior left fielder Jackie Prybella (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) led off the game, reached on an infield single and took second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, sophomore second baseman Emily Griffin (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) knocked a single through the middle to drive home the game’s first run.

However, Massachusetts Lowell would answer with a run in the home half of the first on its way to scoring the final four runs of the game. Junior second baseman Katelyn Hebert (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) led off with a single through the left side, stole second and moved to third on a groundout. Three batters later, she came in to score on a sacrifice fly to right field by freshman first baseman Elissa Boris (Gardner, Mass./Gardner).

The River Hawks later scored three times in the bottom of the third inning to take the lead for good and create the 4-1 final. Hebert led off with a walk and stole second. After sophomore designated player Hilary Hopkins (San Diego, Calif./Poway) worked a walk, senior center fielder Stacey Lajoie (Gardner, Mass./Gardner) bounced into a fielder’s choice that saw Hebert erased at third. Boris followed and knocked a three-run home run, her first of the season, to left field.

Sophomore pitcher Kayla Johnson (Hudson, N.H./Alvirne) threw a complete game and took the loss (0-3) in the circle for Franklin Pierce. Over six innings, she gave up four runs on five hits, walked five and struck out four.

Freshman Marissa Fiorentino (Tewksbury, Mass./Tewksbury) tossed a complete game to pick up the win (1-4) for Massachusetts Lowell. In seven innings in the circle, she gave up one run on four hits, walked one, threw three wild pitches and struck out 12.

In the second game, Massachusetts Lowell opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Lajoie led off, reached via an error, stole second and scored when Boris followed with her second home run of the day, this one a two-run shot to center field.

The River Hawks doubled the lead to 4-0 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, freshman left fielder Nikko Tremblay (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack HS) knocked a single to left field and moved around to third when Lajoie reached base and ended up at second on a throwing error by the second baseman. Freshman first baseman Jaymie Sommers (Voluntown, Conn./Griswold) followed with a single through the middle to drive home both runs.

Franklin Pierce rallied to take a 5-4 lead with a five-run top of the sixth inning. The big blow of the inning was a three-run home run to center field by Howard, which was the first home run of the season by a Raven. Prybella contributed to the surge with a two-run single later in the inning. The only other hit of the inning was a single by Griffin, as Franklin Pierce capitalized on three walks and a hit batter.

However, Massachusetts Lowell would take the victory in walk-off fashion with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hebert led off with a single up the middle, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and moved to third as walks to Lajoie and freshman right fielder Paula Ruszkowski (Reading, Mass./Reading) loaded the bases. Panarelli then hit the game-ending grand slam over the left-field fence to give the River Hawks the 8-5 victory.

Senior pitcher Courtney Jacobs (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) threw a complete game and took the loss (2-5) in the circle for Franklin Pierce in the second game. Over 6.2 innings, she gave up eight runs (five earned) on eight hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out four.

Sophomore Nicole Monroe (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex Regional) started in the circle and did not factor in the decision for Massachusetts Lowell. Over 5.2 innings, she gave up five runs on four hits, walked five, hit a batter and struck out one. Boris picked up the win (1-6) for the River Hawks in relief. Over 1.1 shutout innings, she gave up one hit and threw a wild pitch.

The Ravens (4-10, 0-2 Norteast-10) return to the field on Thursday, April 2, when they host Saint Anselm in a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Lassie League Field in Leominster, Mass. Massachusetts Lowell (2-13-1, 2-3-1 Northeast-10) returns to action on April 1 at Bentley.