Erin Wood smacks two-run homer in game two

SMITHFIELD, R.I. (March 29, 2014) – The Franklin Pierce University softball team put together a pair of strong performances on Saturday versus Assumption, including picking up a convincing 10-1 win in game one (5 innings), followed by a solid showing in a narrow 4-3 setback in game two. The doubleheader was held at Conaty Park in Smithfield, R.I. on the campus of Bryant University.

Franklin Pierce moved to 2-6 overall and 1-1 in the Northeast-10 (1-1 Northeast Division), while Assumption moved to 7-7 and 1-1 in league play (1-1 NE Division).

Sophomore hurler Mandi Adee (Kinderhook, N.Y.) allowed just one run and scattered six hits over 5.0 innings of work to earn the win to improve to 1-3 on the year. She got off to a shaky start in the first by yielding a run, and then worked herself into a jam in the second by putting runners on first and second with no one out.

However, the Ravens came up huge defensively for her, first with Alicia Dean (Danvers, Mass.) turning a double play on catching a bunt pop-up, and then throwing back to first base to get a Greyhound runner straying too far from the bag, and not getting back in time before the tag. A flyout capped the inning, and Franklin Pierce turned its fortunes around from there.

The Ravens exploded for four runs in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by a three-run homer from junior outfielder Jamie Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.), who deposited a fastball deep over the wall in left field, scoring Karissa Forzese (Methuen, Mass.) and Ashley Noke (Cumberland, R.I.) on the play. Forzese tied the game up at 1-1 earlier in the frame with an RBI single through the left side.

Franklin Pierce wasn’t done, and tacked on four more in the next inning, including a two-run double by Noke, an RBI single from Tricia Hansen (Mansfield, Mass.), and an RBI from Dean, who drew a bases loaded walk.

The Ravens put the eight-run rule into effect in the fourth inning as Wiley drew another bases loaded walk to force in a run, while Hansen roped a single back up through the middle to bring home Melissa Morgan (Clifton Park, N.Y.).

Adee made short work of the Greyhounds in the fifth, as she retired all three batters she faced on just six pitches to end the game early.

Hansen finished game one by going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Morgan, Noke, and Forzese each scored twice.

Franklin Pierce took the momentum from game one, and brought it into game two, scoring twice in the first off a two-run blast from Erin Wood (Dover, N.Y.). Wood’s homer also brought home Hansen, who led off the frame with a walk.

In addition to batting leadoff, Hansen started in the pitching circle and stifled Assumption’s hitters all afternoon. She retired six of the first seven batters she faced, as the Greyhounds could not find a groove against her in the early going.

The Ravens tacked on another run in the third, and Hansen continued her outstanding stuff in the circle, but it all came undone in the top of the seventh as Assumption plated four to take a 4-3 lead. Ashley Abad singled in the first run, and Andrea Crowley followed by sending the first pitch she saw over the fence in left field.

The Ravens couldn’t muster a threat in the seventh, as Assumption completed the come-from-behind win.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday when the Ravens take on Saint Anselm at a neutral site in North Andover, Mass. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 3 p.m., followed by game two at 5 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce softball, please visit the team’s page at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu. To follow the department 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 http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)