WORCESTER, Mass. (April 11, 2015) – Junior Erin Wood (Dover, N.Y.) single handedly powered the Franklin Pierce University Ravens softball team to a win on Saturday afternoon, as she blasted a go-ahead solo home run in the top of the eighth to give the Ravens a 3-2, eight inning win over the Assumption College Greyhounds in game one of a doubleheader. The Ravens would go on to lose game two by a final score of 9-5. Both games were played on the campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Franklin Pierce would strike early in game one, snagging a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Ravens were able to stage a two out rally with four consecutive singles from graduate student Jamie Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.), Wood, junior Morgan Cahill (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), and junior Courtney Caputo (Stony Brook, N.Y.). Caputo would be on the right side of the hit parade, as she collected the two RBI's on her single through the left side.

Assumption would strike back quickly, as a leadoff home run in the bottom of the second from senior Jess DiPilato off of junior Tricia Hansen (Mansfield, Mass.) brought the game to a 2-1 score. The game would stay that way until the bottom of the seventh, as Assumption would strike with the long ball again. This time, it would be Ashley Abad coming through in the clutch to lead off the inning before the Greyhounds would go down 1-2-3 to the hand of Hansen to bring things to extra innings.

With two out in the top of the eighth and the pressure on, Wood would step in and deliver her game-winning home run in dramatic fashion before junior Mandi Adee (Kinderhook, N.Y.) came in and pitched a pressure packed bottom of the eighth, only giving up a hit and a walk to collect her first save of the season.

Game two would find different luck the Ravens way, as Adee would not replicate her game one magic. The Greyhounds would jump out to a 5-0 lead after three innings of play, cashing in a majority of their base runners early on.

Finally, Franklin Pierce would jump on the bandwagon and bring the game back within a single run. Wiley and Wood would be the duo to start everything off again, with a walk by Wiley and single by Wood. After a Cahill flyout, Caputo would walk to load the bases. After another out was put up, freshman Samantha Bonvino (Milford, Mass.) stepped up to the plate. She proceeded to smack a grand slam over the center field fence for her first career collegiate home run and make the score 5-4.

The Ravens would tie the game in the top of the fifth inning, thanks to a leadoff walk by junior Julie Gallagher (Flanders, N.J.), who would score on an RBI single by Wiley.

After turning to freshman Aubrey Bianco (Marlboro, N.Y.) in the bottom of the fourth, she was able to hold down Assumption briefly with a clean fourth inning. In the fifth, the Greyhounds would respond to the Ravens momentum with more offensive shenanigans of their own. They would take advantage of a Raven error and score a run before Andrea Crowley would whack a three run home run to extend the Assumption lead back out to 9-5.

Wood found herself 4-8 (.500) on the day, finding holes for three singles and the home run. Wiley would put up two hits to her name, giving Wood and Wiley a combined 6 of the 12 total hits by Franklin Pierce on the day.

The Ravens return to the diamond, tomorrow, April 12, as they face off against Assumption in another doubleheader at WPI beginning at 1 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce softball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).