Megan Gardiner has walk-off double in game one & single in game two

RINDGE, N.H. (April 19, 2014) – Freshman outfielder Megan Gardiner (Vernon, Conn.) had herself quite the heroic day on Saturday, as she delivered a pair of walk-off hits to enable the Franklin Pierce University softball team to pull off a pair of come-from-behind wins and sweep a four-game series from Stonehill at the Melissa Bisaccia Memorial Softball Complex in Rindge, N.H. The Ravens scored five times in the bottom of the seventh in game one to rally from a 5-1 deficit for a 6-5 triumph, while overcoming a 7-1 deficit in game two to pull off an amazing 10-9 victory.

The Ravens ran their win streak to five-consecutive games and are now 9-17 overall, 7-11 in the Northeast-10, and 5-9 in the Northeast Division, while Stonehill dropped to 18-18, 13-8 in the conference and 10-5 in the division. Including Thursday’s doubleheader sweep of Stonehill, Franklin Pierce won all four games in dramatic fashion by pulling off a comeback each time.

Gardiner’s first walk-off came in game one and capped a five-run seventh, as she roped a two-out double to right field scoring Jamie Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) and Melissa Morgan (Clifton Park, N.Y.) on the play. Wiley had doubled to right field earlier in the frame, and was followed by Morgan, who ripped an RBI single to pull the Ravens to within a run at 5-4.

While Gardiner’s double capped it, Erin Wood’s (Dover, N.Y.) solo homer sparked it, as she led off the frame with a blast that easily cleared the fence in left field. Freshman Sydney Despres (Sterling, Mass.) also added an RBI in the inning.

Wiley, who had an outstanding day at the dish, reached base in all four of her plate appearances in game one and went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Her base knock back through the middle of the infield in the fourth got the Ravens on the board after they had spotted Stonehill a 4-0 lead after just two innings.

In all, Wiley stepped to the plate eight times during both games Saturday and reached base six times, including a 2-for-4 clip in the second game.

Mandi Adee (Kinderhook, N.Y.) got the win in the pitching circle by settling down following a rough opening two innings and scattering just a run and five hits over the final five innings of work. Stonehill touched her up for three runs in the second on an RBI single by Alison Sumski, and a two-run single by Jocelynne Morrell. Adee had a 1-2-3 seventh to keep Stonehill at bay, and allow her teammates to pick her up with an amazing bottom of the frame.

Michelle Carbone came on in relief of starter Megan Ruonavaara and suffered the loss by yielding three runs on four hits in just two-thirds innings of work. Sumski, Morrell, Carbone, and Megan Staudle each had two hits for the Skyhawks.

Just as they did in the previous games in the series, the Skyhawks jumped all over Franklin Pierce early in game two, posting four runs in the top of the first on a grand slam by Ruonavaara. Stonehill tacked on two in the third, and one more in the fourth to take a commanding 7-1 advantage.

However, Franklin Pierce had the Skyhawks right where it wanted them, and slowly began to chip away at the deficit in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of runs off a single from Ashley Noke (Cumberland, R.I.).

The Ravens then turned the fifth inning into a fireworks show, as 10 batters stepped to the plate in pounding out six runs on six hits to go up 9-7. Courtney Caputo (Stony Brook, N.Y.) stroked an RBI single, while Noke drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Morgan also added an RBI single, but the highlight of the frame was a bases clearing double to center field from Morgan Cahill (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), scoring Gardiner, Mikaela Ballmer (Birdsboro, Pa.), and Morgan on the play.

Stonehill, to its credit, didn’t fold, and tied things up in the top of the seventh, but Franklin Pierce countered in the bottom of the frame as Noke, Morgan, and Despres each led off with singles, and Gardiner brought down the curtains on a terrific weekend by stroking a single back up the middle to bring home Noke for the remarkable win.

Tricia Hansen (Mansfield, Mass.) got the win in the pitching circle, as she went the distance. Lindsey McKillop, the third pitcher used by Stonehill in the game, was tagged with the loss.

Morgan was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored to lead the Ravens’ attack, while Noke followed by going 2-for-3 with three runs batted in. Ruonavaara was 3-for-3 with five RBI and three runs scored for the Skyhawks in game two.

The Ravens seek to keep to their winning ways Tuesday when they travel to Saint Michael’s in Colchester, Vt. for a single game 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(.)