Griffin drives in five runs in first game

CLERMONT, Fla. (March 15, 2010) – Junior second baseman Emily Griffin (Leominster, Mass.) clubbed three doubles and drove in five runs on Monday morning to lead the Franklin Pierce University softball team to a 16-3, six-inning victory over Nyack in neutral-site, non-conference play at the National Training Center. Later on Monday, sophomore first baseman Keryn Shannon (Dracut, Mass.) knocked an RBI double, but the Ravens were defeated, 8-1, by Indiana Tech. With the split, Franklin Pierce moves to 1-5 (0-0 Northeast-10) on the season.

Franklin Pierce gave up a run in the top of the first inning in the first game, but scored twice in the bottom half of the inning and added a run in the second to push the lead to 3-1. Nyack briefly tied the game at 3-3 with two runs in the top of the third, but from there, it was all Franklin Pierce. The Ravens scored three times in the fourth, twice in the fifth and piled up eight runs in the sixth to take a 16-3 lead. The game would be halted via the eight-run rule after six innings.

For Franklin Pierce, Griffin drove home five runs with her three doubles, while freshman shortstop Aimee Lamoureux (East Brookfield, Mass.) and senior catcher Kristen Tracy (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) drove in two runs apiece. Lamoureux recorded three hits, a single, double and a triple, while Tracy tallied both a single and a double. Senior first baseman Kiley Molinari (Meriden, Conn.) and sophomore third baseman Meaghan O'Neal (Littleton, Mass.) each picked up two hits as well for Franklin Pierce and freshman Jessica Furtado (Taunton, Mass.) knocked a double.

In the circle for Franklin Pierce, sophomore right-hander Jessica Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) threw a two-hitter to pick up her first win of the season. Over six innings, she allowed three unearned runs, walked one and struck out six.

In the second game, Indiana Tech took a 2-1 lead into the sixth inning, then put together a four-run sixth and a two-run seventh to come away with an 8-1 victory. The Ravens picked up four extra-base hits in the second game: an RBI double from Shannon, a triple from Lamoureux and doubles from O'Neal and sophomore catcher Jamie Verner (Natick, Mass.). O'Neal added a single for her second two-hit game of the day.

Freshman right-hander Lindsay Hodges (Sherburne, N.Y.) started the second game in the circle for the Ravens. Over 5.2 innings, she allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits and walked two. Freshman right-hander Rachel Allen (Hull, Mass.) threw the final 1.1 innings and gave up three runs on five hits.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, March 16, when they play a trio of neutral-site, non-conference games at the National Training Center. Franklin Pierce will take on Nyack at 9:30 a.m., Limestone at 1:30 p.m. and St. Thomas Aquinas at 4 p.m.