MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 18, 2021) – After being blanked in the first game on Sunday afternoon, Gina Hinckley (Lancaster, Mass.) made sure the Franklin Pierce University softball team would not leave Saint Anselm empty-handed. The senior mashed a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to lift the Ravens to a 2-0 victory over the No. 14 nationally ranked Hawks. Earlier in the day, senior right-hander Morgan Perry tossed a four-hit, 11-strikeout shutout as Saint Anselm posted a 6-0 win.

With the split, Franklin Pierce's record moves to 9-5 (8-4 NE10), while Saint Anselm now stands at 15-3 (12-2 NE10). Franklin Pierce was the originally-scheduled host of the doubleheader, which was relocated due to unplayable field conditions in Rindge. As such, the Ravens played as the home team and batted in the bottom half of each inning.

Game 1: Saint Anselm 6, Franklin Pierce 0

Saint Anselm made the best of batting first, as the Hawks jumped out to a lead in the top of the first. Sophomore Kylie Fitzpatrick worked a 2-1 count from the right side of the plate before pulling a homerun over the left-field wall for her second home run of the season.

Franklin Pierce got the offense humming, but could not get any runs across in the bottom of the inning. Graduate student Madi Killebrew (Dana Point, Calif.) lined a ball over the head of the shortstop and into center field for a double, before Hinkley worked a walk with two away in the inning, though both would be left on base. Franklin Pierce managed at least one baserunner in each of the first six innings, but could never push a run across and left 11 runners on base in the game, which included stranding the bases full in the sixth.

The Hawks added a pair runs in the fourth, on RBI singles from junior Bre Klaiber and senior Lauren Washburn, and two more in the fifth, on an RBI triple by senior Shannon Colson and an RBI single by Fitzpatrick, to bring the score to 5-0. Saint Anselm added one final run in the sixth, on the team's second long ball of the game. This time it was senior Kat Stackrow, who sent one over the left-field wall for her second homer of the year.

Sophomore Madison Labrie (New Ipswich, N.H.) started the game in the circle for the Ravens, gave up five hits and three runs over four innings of work and suffered the loss (0-2).

Perry (10-0) went the distance for the Hawks and struck out 11 while authoring the four-hit shutout, though she did walk five.

Game 2: Franklin Pierce 2, Saint Anselm 0

The second game was one for the pitchers, as both lineups were held to just three hits apiece. The Ravens started with freshman right-hander Samantha Sylvester (Morris, Conn.), who struck out three and allowed three hits over five scoreless innings. Senior right-hander Cyrena Zemaitis (Goshen, Conn.) took over from there and threw a pair of hitless innings with two walks and four strikeouts to pick up the win (6-1).

Sophomore right-hander McKenna Smith (3-1) pitched a complete game in the loss for Saint Anselm, as she struck out four, walked three and allowed two runs on three hits.

As for the offense, Franklin Pierce found itself with an opportunity in the bottom of the sixth, with one out and Killebrew standing on second after a double to right. The cleanup-hitting Hinckley smoked an opposite-field shot to right for her fifth home run of the season, to give the Ravens the only runs they would need. The home run would make a winner out of Zemaitis, who finished things off by recording three straight strikeouts after issuing a leadoff walk in the seventh.

For Hinckley, it was her 11^th career home run, which moved her into sole possession of second all-time in program history. The program record is 18, held by Erin Wood '16.