Courtney Caputo rips solo homer in game one

RINDGE, N.H. (April 4, 2014) – The Franklin Pierce University softball team tried to rally in the seventh inning of game two of Friday’s doubleheader versus Saint Anselm to salvage a split, but could not pull off the feat in falling, 7-6, after dropping an 8-0 decision in game one. Friday’s twinbill was held at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass.

With the two setbacks Franklin Pierce fell to 2-8 overall and 1-3 in the Northeast-10 Conference and 1-3 in the Northeast Division. Saint Anselm improved to 10-6 and 4-2 in league and division play.

The Ravens seemed to take command of game two by plating a trio of runs in the sixth to go up 5-3. Jamie Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) and Tricia Hansen (Mansfield, Mass.) each laced a pair of RBI singles, with the former eventually coming around to score later in the frame on a St. A’s error. The sixth inning was part of a two-hit attack for both Wiley and Hansen, as their outburst was just one of the many offensive highlights for the Ravens in the game.

Saint Anselm, though, countered with four runs on just two swings in the bottom of the frame to go up by a pair. Julie LeClair smacked a three-run homer to right-center field to ignite the rally, while Nicole Boucher followed two batters later by ripping a solo shot over the left field fence.

The Ravens, who smacked two homers themselves in the game, got a one-out longball from Syndey Despres (Sterling, Mass.) in the seventh to trim the deficit to one, but Hawks pitcher Paige Cormier struck out a pair to end the threat.

Cormier started and went the distance to earn the win despite yielding six runs (three earned) on nine hits. She also struck out seven and yielded zero walks. Hansen took the loss in the circle for Franklin Pierce after going all seven innings, but yielded seven runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

Melissa Morgan (Clifton Park, N.Y.) had two hits for Franklin Pierce as well, while Courtney Caputo (Stony Brook, N.Y.) blasted a solo homer in the first to kick-start the game’s offensive outburst.

Saint Anselm collected all the runs in game one, as it posted the 8-0 triumph in just five innings. Boucher went 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored to key the attack, while Kasey Moran and LeClair scored a pair of runs apiece.

Tayla Trask got the win in the circle as she scattered a pair of runs over 5.0 innings of work. She struck out six with no walks.

Mandi Adee (Kinderhook, N.Y.) suffered the loss for the Ravens as she gave up eight runs (only three earned) on seven hits with five walks and no strikeouts. Ashley Noke (Cumberland, R.I.) and Wiley accounted for the two hits for Franklin Pierce.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday when the Ravens play host to Southern Connecticut State in a doubleheader in Manchester on the SNHU campus beginning at 3 p.m.

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