Bentley Wins Season Series Versus Franklin Pierce With Two Victories Saturday

RINDGE, N.H. (April 15, 2017) – Coming off a seventh inning walk-off victory yesterday, the Franklin Pierce University softball team looked to continue their success on Saturday, but Bentley University took the final two games and the season series by a 11-8 and 10-6 margin in Northeast-10 Conference play at the Bisaccia Softball Complex. Both wins moved Bentley to 8-14, 4-7 NE10 and the two setbacks were number 20 and 21 overall on the year for the Crimson and Grey.

Game One: Falcons 11, Ravens 8 (Final)

Falcon second basemen, Julie Slavin was 3-for-5 with a double and a game-best four RBI while right fielder Chelsea Vena went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI. For the Ravens, freshman catcher Ashley Conway (Salem, N.H.) recorded three hits in four at bats with a run batted in. Ashley Deyo (Dover, N.H.) stroked two doubles, while Aubrey Bianco (Marlboro, N.Y.) hit a homer and drove in two runs. Junior first basemen Dominique Bisaccia (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) accounted for two runs as well.

Bentley got on the board first as an illegal pitch on a 2-2 count with two outs advanced Kelsey Kennedy to second. Slavin drove the runner in with a sharp hit liner off Deyo's glove which plated the run. Raven starter Abbie Paquette (Biddeford, Maine) danced out of danger by getting a fly out to the right centerfield gap to end the frame.

The Ravens answered in the bottom half on a fielder's choice off the bat of junior Cassidy Sorenson (Billerica, Mass.) that scored Jillian Ostrander (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) who reached via an error by Falcon first basemen Stacey Korotsky. In the top of the second Juliana Romeo reached on a throwing error and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt. The frame came to a screeching halt as Gabby Casalino roped a liner to shortstop Jaclyn Cortese (Upton, Mass.). Cortese corralled the ball, immediately fired to second to double off Romeo and end the inning.

Bentley scored six in the top of the third as a 4-3 groundout plated a run to regain the lead. With two down, the Falcons tallied five runs to push ahead 7-0 on a Vena two RBI single, a Romeo triple and a Catie Noons single to center. Bentley added three more to their lead to up the advantage to 10-1 after four frames.

Deyo, the second batter of the bottom of the fourth rocked a double to left center and a batter later, Bianco hit a towering moonshot to left center field over the flag pole which cut into the Falcon advantage at 10-3.

The Ravens were one out from being run ruled, but an error from Bentley starter Kayleigh Fitzpatrick kept the Ravens hopes alive. Conway promptly singled to put runners at first and second with two down. Sorenson and Bisaccia responded with two run scoring singles apiece to pull within five at 11-6.

FPU added two more in the bottom of the sixth to make it a three run game off a fielder's choice and a single through the legs of the pitcher by Conway. However the Ravens couldn't capitalize on a double and single in the final inning.

Game Two: Falcons 10, Ravens 6 (Final)

Left fielder Jillian Ostrander was 2-for-4 in the back end of the twinbill with a homer, two RBI and a run scored. Deyo went 2-for-4 as well as Bianco who drove in a run. Slavin's hot bat carried over in game two as she accounted for four of the Falcons 10 runs while notching three hits.

Ostrander led off the bottom of the first by lofting a 2-1 offering over the left centerfield fence to give the Ravens an early 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the second, Deyo led off by smoking an opposite field double, Bianco tapped a single to the pitcher which put runners at the corners and no one out. Bianco stole second base, but the Ravens could muster only one run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Cortese to up their early lead to 2-0.

Bentley loaded the bases in the next half inning on a bunt single, a single to third and a single to first. Kennedy ripped a single into the left center gap that fell in between two defenders which made the score 2-1. Slavin then put the guests ahead with a single that took a funky bounce over Cortese's head and Romeo capped off the scoring with an RBI single to push Bentley up 4-2.

The Ravens get one of those runs back as Ostrander beat out throw to first from short that sent home Cortese in the bottom of the fourth to make it a one run game. Bentley added two to their lead in the top of the fifth and four in the top of the sixth to hold a 10-3 edge.

The Ravens attempted a comeback as an error on an Ostrander grounder and two solo bombs in the bottom of the seventh off the bats of Sorenson and Bianco cut the deficit to four, 10-6. Bisaccia flied out to center to end the comeback attempt and the contest.

Bianco and Sorenson's big flies were their third of the campaign as they are both tied for the team lead. Sorenson now has nine career taters as she looks to climb past the 10 homers Jessica Furtado (2010-13) hit in her Raven career.

Franklin Pierce looks to return to the win column on Monday when they welcome NE10 opponent Saint Michael's College to campus for a doubleheader set for 4:00 and 6:00 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' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).