Freshman hits walk-off home run in first game

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

RINDGE, N.H. (April 8, 2010) – Freshman catcher Jessica Furtado (Taunton, Mass.) hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday afternoon to lead the Franklin Pierce University softball team to a 6-5 win over Saint Anselm in the first game of a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader at Franklin Pierce. Later in the afternoon, Saint Anselm won the second game, 6-3.

With the split, Franklin Pierce is now 9-14 (4-6 Northeast-10), while Saint Anselm moves to 10-12 (3-5 Northeast-10).

In the first game, Saint Anselm opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning. With two outs, junior third baseman Jackie Giannino worked a walk and came all the way around to score on a double to right-center by junior shortstop Liz Trafton.

Franklin Pierce answered with a run of its own in the home half of the first to tie the game at 1-1. Freshman shortstop Aimee Lamoureux (East Brookfield, Mass.) led off with a triple over the right fielder's head and scored when sophomore center fielder Jayme Bilafer (Concord, Mass.) followed with a ground-rule double to left field.

Saint Anselm picked up a run in the top of the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead. Senior second baseman Lizzy LeBrun led off, dropped a single inside the left-field line and took second on an error by the left fielder. She would score two batters later on an RBI single back through the middle by freshman first baseman Kylene Pease.

The Hawks added two more runs in the top of the fifth to push the lead to 4-1. Giannino started things with a single through the left side and then stole second. She would score two batters later on a single back up the middle by LeBrun, who took second on the throw to the plate and was then replaced by sophomore pinch runner Kat Scafidi. Freshman designated player Kryssie Cudmore followed with a single through the left side to push Scafidi to third and Pease drove home the run as she bounced into a fielder's choice.

Saint Anselm picked up one more run in the top of the sixth to extend the lead to 5-1. Junior left fielder Kayla McEachern led off with a walk and was lifted for junior pinch runner Raylyn Glavin. Giannino worked a walk to put runners at first and second and each moved up a base on a passed ball. LeBrun was next and bounced into a fielder's choice that saw Glavin cut down at the plate. The Hawks then put on the delayed double steal with runners at the corners and Giannino came home to score.

Franklin Pierce answered with a four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 5-5. Lamoureux led off with a walk and moved to second on an infield single by Bilafer. Sophomore second baseman Emily Griffin (Leominster, Mass.) then clubbed a double into left-center to score one run and move Bilafer to third. Bilafer would score on an RBI single to right-center by Furtado that moved Griffin around to third and freshman Alexa Demsey (Maidstone, Vt.) entered as a pinch runner for Furtado. Demsey stole second and moved to third when sophomore pinch hitter Keryn Shannon (Dracut, Mass.) hit an RBI groundout to score Griffin. Demsey would later score on a passed ball to cap the rally.

The Ravens would go on to win in extra innings with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning. With one out, Furtado, who had re-entered defensively in the seventh, hammed a solo home run to left field, the first of the season for Franklin Pierce, to end the game and give the Ravens a 6-5 victory.

Freshman right-hander Lindsay Hodges (Sherburne, N.Y.) started in the circle and did not factor in the decision for Franklin Pierce. Over 4.1 innings, she allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits, walked three, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and struck out two. Sophomore right-hander Jessica Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) picked up the win (5-3) in relief for the Ravens. In 1.1 shutout innings of work, she allowed two hits and struck out one.

Senior right-hander Lisa Caruso started the game for Saint Anselm and also did not factor in the decision. In 5.2 innings, she allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out five. Senior right-hander Megan Lemire took the loss out of the bullpen for the Hawks. Over 1.2 innings, she allowed one run on one hit, the Furtado home run.

In the second game, Saint Anselm opened the scoring with three runs in the top of the second inning and would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way. With one out, Scafidi dumped a single into left field and moved around to third on a double into the right-center field gap by Pease. Sophomore right fielder Mary Fay followed with an RBI single through the left side that also moved Pease to third. After Fay stole second, senior left fielder Moira McCabe hit an RBI groundout to second base. Fay would later score an unearned run from third as McEachern reached on an error by Lamoureux at shortstop.

Franklin Pierce answered with a run of its own in the home half of the second to cut the lead to 3-1. Furtado led off with an infield single, moved to second on a groundout and came in to score on an RBI single back through the middle by Shannon.

Saint Anselm pushed the lead back to three runs at 4-1 in the top of the third inning on a solo home run to left-center by LeBrun, her second of the season.

Franklin Pierce narrowed the lead to one at 4-3 with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the third. With one out, Bilafer reached on an infield single and moved to third as Griffin and Furtado followed with singles to left to load the bases. Sophomore third baseman Meaghan O'Neal (Littleton, Mass.) followed with an RBI single down the left-field line to bring home the first run of the inning. Two batters later, Shannon provided her second RBI of the game with a single into left to score Griffin.

Saint Anselm would effectively put the game away with two runs in the top of the sixth inning to create the 6-3 final. Pease led off, reached on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Pease would move to third on a groundout and score when McEachern clubbed a home run just to the left of straightaway center field, her second of the season.

Wiley started the second game and took the loss (5-4) for Franklin Pierce. Over 3.1 innings of work, she allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and struck out one.

After taking the loss in extra innings in the first game, Lemire threw a complete game to pick up the win (4-4) for Saint Anselm in the second game. She allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out three.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, April 10, when they travel to Pace for a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Pace Field in Briarcliff, N.Y. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Tuesday, April 13 against Merrimack at 3 p.m.