Tricia Hansen goes 3-for-3 with a triple and a run scored

MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 3, 2013) -- The Franklin Pierce University softball team could not hold a one-run lead as Saint Anselm pushed across a run in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth to pull off a 7-4 come-from-behind win on Wednesday night on the Southern New Hampshire University campus in Manchester. The Ravens fell to 2-9 (0-4 Northeast-10, 0-4 Northeast Division), while the Hawks improved to 6-11 (4-3 NE-10, 3-0 Northeast Division).

Franklin Pierce jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning, as Alicia Dean (Danvers, Mass.) and Caitlin Murphy (Braintree, Mass.) came home on a Saint Anselm error to open the scoring. The Ravens plated the third run with some nifty base running as they pulled off a double steal with Tricia Hansen (Mansfield, Mass.) taking second and Megan Bird (Laconia, N.H.) coming home on a heads up play.

Saint Anselm, though, responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame on a two-run homer to left field from Julie LeClair. Monique Gauthier also came home on the blast as she reached base by leading off the inning by getting hit by a pitch from Hansen.

The Hawks knotted the score at 3-3 in the third as Nicole Boucher doubled to left field to lead off the inning and eventually came around to score on a Franklin Pierce error.

The Ravens, however, shook off the error and plated a run in the fourth inning to go back on top at 4-3. Hansen drew a base on balls to lead off the inning, reached second on a groundout from Courtney Caputo (Stony Brook, N.Y.), advanced to third on a wild pitch, and finally crossed home plate on Melissa Morgan's (Clifton Park, N.Y.) RBI double to right-center field.

Saint Anselm rallied with a run in the bottom half of the frame and then exploded for a trio of runs in the fifth to complete the comeback. Leclair drove in a run with a single through the left side and Kasey Moran blasted a two-run triple to left field.

Franklin Pierce could not mount a rally to tie the game over the final two innings. The Ravens did put a pair of runners on during each of the final two frames, but could not come up with a hit to knock them in.

Tayla Trask got the win in the pitching circle for Saint Anselm, despite yielding four runs (two earned) on 12 hits over 7.0 innings of work. She struck out two, but also walked four batters during the game.

Hansen went 3-for-3 in the game with a triple and the run scored, and also started in the pitching circle for the Ravens. She went 5.0 innings and struck out five, but yielded six earned runs on eight hits to suffer the loss to fall to 0-5 on the year.

Caputo, Morgan, Murphy and Karissa Forzese (Methuen, Mass.) each collected a pair of hits on the night for the Ravens.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Thursday when the Ravens travel to take on American International in Springfield, Mass. in a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce softball, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce softball apparel can do so on the athletic department's online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)