Alicia Dean collects a pair of hits

EASTON, Mass. (April 21, 2013) -- Stonehill scored five times in the first and plated a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to down the Franklin Pierce University softball team, 9-1, in five innings on Sunday afternoon at Father Gartland Field in Easton, Mass. Franklin Pierce fell to 6-24 overall and 4-17 in the Northeast-10 (3-12 Northeast Division), while Stonehill improved to 21-20 and 13-8 in league play (8-5 NE Div).

Megan Ruonavaara had an outstanding all-around game on Sunday as she turned in a complete-game win in the pitching circle (improved to 13-10) for the Skyhawks, while also pounding out a pair of hits, including a two-run single up the middle to highlight the first inning. Her second hit was a solo home run over the fence in straight-away center field in the fifth inning to set the eight-run rule into effect and cap the win for the Skyhawks.

Lindsay McKillop was the other Skyhawk to pound out a pair of hits on the afternoon, and she too, aided the first inning with an RBI single. Nicole Eisenmann also smacked a homer for Stonehill, as it was a solo shot to center in the fourth inning.

The five-run first came against Franklin Pierce rookie hurler Mandi Adee (Kinderhook, N.Y.), who ultimately took the loss to fall to 2-5 after going 4.0 innings and yielding seven runs on eight hits with three walks.

The Ravens pounded out seven hits against Ruonavaara, but she limited the damage by not allowing them to get the timely base knock to make the game interesting. The only real mistake Ruonavaara made on the day was issuing a bases loaded walk to Courtney Caputo (Stony Brook, N.Y.) in the second inning, which forced in Franklin Pierce's only run. Ashley Noke (Cumberland, R.I.) and Alicia Dean (Danvers, Mass.) each had a pair of hits on the day, including Noke scoring on Caputo's walk.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Monday when the Ravens travel to Worcester, Mass. to face Assumption in a doubleheader beginning at 3 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(.)