Ashley Noke smacks first home run of the season; Mandi Adee turns in gem from the pitching circle in game two

RINDGE, N.H. (April 16, 2013) – The Franklin Pierce University softball team got a pair of quality starts in the pitching circle and used a pair of long home runs to propel itself to a doubleheader sweep of Saint Michael’s on Tuesday afternoon at the FPU Softball Field in Rindge. The Ravens came from behind in game one to pick up a 4-3 win and then downed the Purple Knights, 5-1, in game two.

Franklin Pierce improved to 6-19 overall and 4-14 in the Northeast-10 (3-9 Northeast Division), while St. Mike’s fell to 0-29 and 0-19 in league play (0-11 NE Div.).

Saint Michael’s got to the Ravens in the early going of game one by putting up a run in the first inning and then plating a pair in the second, but it was all Ravens after that.

Franklin Pierce exploded for four runs in the third, highlighted by Ashley Noke’s (Cumberland, R.I.) three-run blast over the fence in straight-away center field. The homer brought home both Caitlin Murphy (Braintree, Mass.) and Melissa Morgan (Clifton Park, N.Y.) on the play, as those two started the rally by drawing a walk to lead off the inning and then the latter following with a base hit to center. 

Noke’s finished game one by going 2-for-3 as it came on the heels of her batting .400 last week and igniting Franklin Pierce’s offensive attack in a 5-2 win over Bentley last Saturday. 

Franklin Pierce got its other run in the inning when Jessica Furtado (Taunton, Mass.) stroked a single to left field, bringing home Sam Conners (Jackson, N.J.), who doubled to center in the prior at-bat. Furtado also had a pair of hits in the contest.

Senior hurler Rachel Allen (Hull, Mass.), who was victimized by an early error in the first inning which led to an unearned run, was lights out in the circle following the four runs the Ravens staked for her. She yielded just three meaningless hits over the final four innings, while striking out three to earn the win – her second straight – and running her record to 4-6 on the year.

Franklin Pierce carried the momentum into game two and jumped on top 3-0 after three innings of play.

Conners put the Ravens on top 2-0 in the second as she crushed a two-run homer over the fence in center field. It marked the first blast of her collegiate career as it also scored Alicia Dean (Danvers, Mass.) on the play, who reached base via a walk in the previous at-bat.

Karissa Forzese (Methuen, Mass.) roped an RBI base hit to center in the third, scoring Tricia Hansen (Mansfield, Mass.), who stroked a single of her own earlier in the frame. 

That was all the run support freshman pitcher Mandi Adee (Kinderhook, N.Y.) would need as she turned in a strong start by going all seven innings and yielding one run, while scattering five hits with five strikeouts and only one walk.

She had retired seven-consecutive batters heading into the fourth inning, which proved to be the only frame Saint Michael’s touched her up as Bethany Falls smacked an RBI double to right-center field, scoring Greer Lemnah. 

Adee earned the win to run her record to 2-3 on the year. 

Franklin Pierce got that run back in the bottom of the inning as Courtney Caputo (Stony Brook, N.Y.) ripped an RBI double to right center, and the Ravens tacked on an insurance run in the sixth when Morgan Cahill (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) laced an RBI two-base hit to the fence in center. 

The Ravens pounded out seven extra-base hits on the afternoon to run their league leading total to 27.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday when the Ravens play host to Southern New Hampshire in a doubleheader in Rindge beginning at 4 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(.)