Matthews collects five hits, drives in two

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

RINDGE, N.H. (April 13, 2009) – Sophomore shortstop Melissa Vitagliano (Bedford, N.H./New Hampshire Tech) went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run in the second game on Monday afternoon to lead Southern New Hampshire to an 8-3 victory and a doubleheader sweep of the Franklin Pierce University softball team in Northeast-10 Conference play at Franklin Pierce Softball Field. Southern New Hampshire won the first game by a score of 8-6 in eight innings. Senior designated player Elaine Matthews (Roslindale, Mass./Archbishop Williams) tallied five hits and drove in a pair of runs in the doubleheader for Franklin Pierce.

In the first game, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, freshman centerfielder Jayme Bilafer (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) singled up the middle, moved to second on a single through the left side by Matthews and scored two batters later on a single through the middle by senior shortstop Stephanie Howard (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk).

The Ravens extended the lead to 4-0 with three unearned runs in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, senior pitcher Courtney Jacobs (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) worked a walk and was pinch-run for by sophomore Melissa Wade (Taunton, Mass./Coyle Cassidy). Wade moved to second when freshman catcher Jamie Verner (Natick, Mass./Natick) laid down a sacrifice bunt but reached first base on a fielding error by the pitcher. After an infield single by sophomore second baseman Emily Griffin (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) loaded the bases, Bilafer lifted a sacrifice fly to center field which scored Wade and moved the other runners to second and third. Matthews then knocked a two-run single to center field to drive home Verner and Griffin.

Franklin Pierce added another run in the bottom of the third inning to extend the lead to 5-0. Howard led off with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and later scored on a triple to right field by Jacobs.

Southern New Hampshire would start its rally with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Sophomore third baseman Elena Anderson (Salem, Wis./Westosha Central) led off with a walk, moved to second on a groundout and scored on an RBI single back through the middle by Vitagliano.

The Penmen then scored four more runs in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game 5-5. Senior left fielder Nicole Arpin (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) led off with a single over the bag at third base and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Senior center fielder Karissa Bettencourt (Norton, Mass./Norton) followed with an RBI double to the gap in left-center to cut the lead to 5-2. Bettencourt would then score as senior pitcher Ashley Bernstein (Stoughton, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) knocked a single back up the middle and took second base on the throw to the plate. Anderson followed with another single up the middle to score Bernstein. Anderson took second when Howard dropped the cutoff throw on the play. Two batters later, SNHU capped the scoring in the inning as junior first baseman Melissa Pessotti (Burlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic) reached on an infield single, but the ball escaped the grasp of the first baseman, allowing Anderson to score an unearned run.

Franklin Pierce briefly took a 6-5 lead with a run in the bottom half of the fifth. With one out, Howard worked a walk. The Ravens then played station-to-station ball, as consecutive singles by senior left fielder Jackie Prybella (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield), freshman right fielder Jessica Becker (Lowville, N.Y./Lowville Academy) and Jacobs brought Howard around to score.

Southern New Hampshire then tied the game at 6-6 with a run in the top of the sixth inning. Freshman right fielder Amanda Barton (Franklin, N.H./Franklin) led off with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a double into the right-center field gap by senior catcher Michelle Maranto (East Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy).

Then Penmen then won the game with a pair of runs in the eighth inning. Vitagliano led off with a ground-rule double to the gap in left-center and came around to score on a single back up the middle by Arpin, who took second on a throw to plate from the outfield. Arpin would then score as Maranto followed with an RBI double into the left-center field gap.

Jacobs threw a complete game and took the loss (2-10) in the circle for Franklin Pierce. Over eight innings, she gave up eight runs (seven earned) on 12 hits, walked three and struck out three.

Bernstein went the distance to pick up the win (5-7) for Southern New Hampshire. Over eight innings, she gave up six runs (three earned) on 11 hits, walked four and struck out three.

In the second game, Southern New Hampshire jumped to an early lead with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Arpin led off with a double to right-center and moved to third on a single to left field by Maranto. Arpin would then score as Maranto got hung up in a rundown between first and second. Both runners were safe on the play, resulting in a double steal. Maranto went to third on a single to left by Anderson and then scored on an infield single by senior second baseman Valerie Martins (Somerset, Mass./Somerset).

Franklin Pierce answered and tied the game with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the first. Griffin led off with an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and went to third on a single to right field by Matthews. Griffin would score on the play as the right fielder airmailed the cutoff man and Matthews wound up on third as the Penmen attempted to catch Griffin at the plate. Matthews would later score on a ground-rule double to left by Howard.

Southern New Hampshire took a 3-2 lead it would never relinquish with a run in the top of the second inning. With two outs, Arpin reached on a fielding error by the third baseman and came all the way around to score on a double into the gap in left-center by Maranto.

The Penmen broke the game open and took a 7-2 lead with four runs in the top of the third inning. Bernstein led off with a single up the middle and moved around to third on a double to right field by Anderson. Martins followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to drive home Bernstein. After an infield single by Barton put runners at the corners, Vitagliano clubbed a three-run home run, her fourth of the season, well beyond the fence in left-center.

Franklin Pierce would get as close as 7-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning when freshman right fielder Rachel Baxter (Cumberland, R.I./Cumberland) doubled and later scored on a double play grounder by Verner.

Southern New Hampshire created the 8-3 final with a run in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI fielder’s choice by sophomore pitcher Kelsey Griffin (Scarborough, Maine/Iona College).

Freshman pitcher Jessica Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y./Thousand Islands) started in the circle, threw three innings and took the loss (2-5) in the second game for Franklin Pierce. She surrendered seven runs (six earned) on nine hits, did not issue a walk and struck out one.

Kelsey Griffin threw a complete game to pick up the win (4-2) for Southern New Hampshire. Over seven innings, she gave up three runs on nine hits, walked one, hit a batter, threw two wild pitches and struck out 12.

The Ravens (4-20, 0-10 Northeast-10) return to the field on Tuesday, April 14, when they travel to Pace for a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Pace Field in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. Southern New Hampshire (12-18, 10-6 Northeast-10) returns to action on April 14 at home against Massachusetts Lowell.