WALTHAM, Mass. (April 8, 2016) – A sixth-inning home run by senior third baseman Erin Wood (Dover, N.Y.) shrunk the gap on Friday afternoon, but could not undo the damage of a pair of early unearned runs for the Franklin Pierce University softball team at Bentley Field. Bentley got a two-run single from senior first baseman Morgan Mazone in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good on the way to a 4-3 win in Northeast-10 Conference, Northeast Division play.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 5-14 (1-6 Northeast-10, 1-6 Northeast Division), while Bentley improves to 8-10 (6-2 Northeast-10, 4-1 Northeast Division). The two teams will meet again at Bentley on Saturday, for a noon doubleheader to close out the three-game series.

Bentley opened the scoring with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs and nobody on, sophomore second baseman Catie Noons hit a ground ball on the right side, but reached at first, as the inning was prolonged by an error from Franklin Pierce sophomore second baseman Samantha Bonvino (Milford, Mass.). The next two batters made the error hurt, as senior shortstop Alex Borrelli clubbed an RBI triple to center to score Noons and junior left fielder Kelsey Kennedy followed with a single to left to drive home Borrelli.

The Ravens tied the game at 2-2 with a pair of runs -- one unearned -- in the top of the third. With one out, freshman designated player Madison Ryan (Dracut, Mass.) reached on an error by junior third baseman Katelyn Lebreux and moved to second as Bonvino followed with a single to left. Senior shortstop Courtney Caputo (Stony Brook, N.Y.) was next and cashed in both runs with a two-run triple to right field.

Bentley took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Sophomore designated player Jordan Ballantyne took a leadoff walk and moved to second on a single to left by Borrelli. After both runners moved up on a groundout by Kennedy, Mazone squared up a pitch to lash a two-run single into center field to put the Falcons out front, 4-2.

Franklin Pierce would close within a run, at 4-3, with a run in the top of the sixth. Wood led off and drove her first home run of the season to center field. However, the Ravens would not produce another baserunner, as their final six batters of the day went in order and Bentley nailed down the one-run victory.

Senior right-hander Mandi Adee (Kinderhook, N.Y.) started and threw the first four innings in the circle for Franklin Pierce. She allowed two unearned runs on five hits, walked two, struck out one and did not factor in the decision. Freshman right-hander Sabrina LoMonaco (Franklin, Mass.) took over to start the fifth, threw the final two innings, allowed two runs on two hits and walked one while taking the loss (0-5).

On the other side of the ledger, junior left-hander Kelsey Smith threw the first four innings for the Falcons and also did not factor in the decision. She allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits, did not issue a walk and struck out six. Senior left-hander Kelly Ferris (4-6) threw the final three innings, allowed one run on two hits, also did not issue a walk and struck out four to earn the win in relief.

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).