Rachel Allen turns in third-consecutive strong start in the circle

RINDGE, N.H. (April 17, 2013) -- The Franklin Pierce University softball team and Southern New Hampshire waged a solid pitcher's duel in Wednesday's doubleheader, but a couple of timely hits fell in the Penmen's favor as they picked up a doubleheader sweep at FPU Softball Field in Rindge. SNHU took a 2-0 decision in game one and had to battle hard in game two before pulling away late for a 5-0 victory.

Franklin Pierce fell to 6-21 overall and 4-15 in the Northeast-10 (3-10 Northeast Division), while the Penmen improved to 21-9 and 12-4 in league play (9-1 NE Div).

Game one's confrontation in the circle saw SNHU's Ali Maloof get the better of Franklin Pierce's Rachel Allen (Hull, Mass.). Maloof worked all seven innings and struck out 11, while yielding just a pair of hits and three walks to run her record to 11-3 on the campaign.

Franklin Pierce tried to apply pressure to Maloof in both the first and sixth innings, but she came up with huge strikeouts each time to get out of the jam. Freshman Melissa Morgan (Clifton Park, N.Y.) roped a one-out double to left field in the first, but Maloof got a pair of Ravens to strike out looking to end the threat. The Ravens, then, got a runner on third with two outs in the sixth, but once again Maloof fanned a Raven to cap the inning.

Allen was also strong in the pitching circle, marking her third-consecutive start she gave a solid performance. She yielded a pair of runs on nine hits over seven innings of work, despite falling to 4-7 on the year. Allen calmly worked herself out of a bases loaded, one-out jam in the first inning by inducing an infield pop out and a fly out. The only time she was touched up by the Penmen came in the fifth inning when Cristy Jenkins smacked a two-run double.

Game two featured more solid pitching by both sides, this time SNHU's Dolores Mattice tossing a three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts to earn the win to push her record to 8-2. She retired the first six batters she faced and did not allow a hit until Ashley Noke (Cumberland, R.I.) put down an infield single with two outs in the fourth.

The Ravens thought they were putting together a rally in the fifth when Alicia Dean (Danvers, Mass.) stroked a base hit and Morgan Cahill (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) walked to put runners on first and second with one out. However, Mattice got a fly out and a strikeout to end the inning.

Franklin Pierce hurler Tricia Hansen (Mansfield, Mass.) turned in a good effort as the seventh inning was the only frame that put a blemish on an otherwise solid afternoon. She yielded just one run on three hits over the first six innings, but the top of the seventh saw SNHU plate four runs (only three earned), highlighted by Katie Caruso's two-run homer over the fence in left-center field. Caruso drove in SNHU's first run of game two, which came in the fifth inning on a double. Holly Eicher had SNHU's other RBI in the seventh.

Hansen struck out four despite suffering the loss to fall to 0-10 on the year. The record does not begin to tell the story on Hansen's respectable effort in the circle this season, as she has yielded 44 runs, but only 33 of them being earned.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Thursday when the Ravens play host to Bentley in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. in Rindge.

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(.)