WATERBURY, Conn. (3/6/23) - The Franklin Pierce University softball team continued their early dominance of the east region, easily handling Post University in a twin-bill sweep with winning scores of 11-0 and 14-2 on Monday afternoon. The pair of games were the result of a rescheduled matchup from March 5th due to winter weather. 

With the pair of victories, Pierce softball improves to 7-4 on the season while Post opens their new season 0-2.

Game #1

Right out of the dugout, the Ravens would get things moving along early on. An error by the Post first baseman would allow freshman Savannah Arreguin (Pacoima, Calif.) to reach first base, which would then be accompanied by a single from sophomore Bella Williams (Phoenix, Ariz.). With the two runners on and one out, junior infielder Haley Bigwood (Athol, Mass.) would then hit an RBI single before sophomore Lita Vorseth (Mesa, Ariz.) would follow-up with a sacrifice fly-out to center, bring home the second runner to make it 2-0 Ravens. Later on with two outs in the top of the first, senior Melissa Konopinski (Butler, N.J.) would plate a third run with an infield RBI single to the shortstop, completing the first inning scoring for Pierce.

After two scoreless innings, Franklin Pierce looked for some insurance on the scoreboard. With the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the fourth, senior Ari Rodriguez (Clinton, Mass.) would get hit by a pitch to bring in a free run from third, making it a 4-0 game with the bases remaining loaded. In the next at-bat, third-year infielder Molly Magnette (Ayer, Mass.) would take a walk to score a fifth run of the game, which would then be followed with a Bella Williams flyout to right field. The sacrificial play would buy enough time for Magnette and Rodriguez make their way home, bringing things to a 7-0 gap. With one runner still on base, junior Ashley Cangiano  (North Attleboro, Mass.) would finish up the scoring in the fourth with a single to right field, pushing the game further out of reach by an 8-0 score.

In the fifth inning, the Ravens continued to punish the Eagles with the bases loaded, as Rodriguez would experience déjà vu and score a run after getting hit by the pitch. Still with no outs in the top-half, a costly error by the Post third baseman would allow Savannah Arreguin to reach first, scoring runners Anna Erikson (Temecula, Calif.) and Melissa Konopinski to put the Ravens in position for an early victory. Following a successful shutdown of the opponent in the bottom half of the inning, the Ravens would open the afternoon with a five-inning mercy rule win over Post, 11-0.

From the circle, junior Abby Poirot (Winsted, Conn.)  made her third start of the season for the Ravens and would pitch through three innings with no runs allowed on three hits and one strikeout. Freshman Savannah Arreguin (Pacoima, Calif.) would enter to close out the contest, pitching two innings with only one hit allowed, three walks and one strikeout, combining with Poirot for the shutout.

Game #2

After a scoreless top half for the Ravens, the Eagles would make the first move in game two. Post would open the scoring with an RBI single to center field to haul home a run to take the early 1-0 lead, but would also take advantage of a costly error for Pierce that would lead to second run scored, making it 2-0 in favor of the Eagles.

As had been the case in the first game, senior Hailey Melchert (Lake Orion, Mich.) continued to trend of scoring off a "hit by a pitch" situation, and did so to score the first run of the second game for Pierce. In the next at bat, sophomore Bella Williams (Phoenix, Ariz.) belted a single up the middle to score baserunners Melissa Konopinski and Ari Rodriguez, flipping the lead over to Pierce, 3-2.

It was in the third inning where Pierce would once again force the Eagles out of the competition early. The Ravens would begin by plating another run via a single to center field from Senior Ari Rodriguez, which would then be chased with an error by the Post shortstop that allowed Hailey Melchert to reach first and score two more runners, making it 6-2 in favor of Franklin Pierce. However, the error troubles would not end there for Post, as this time it would be on the third baseman that would allow Bella Williams to reach, scoring Rodriguez. To close out the top of the inning, sophomore Lita Voresth (Mesa, Ariz.) connected to hit a RBI sacrifice flyout to left, setting the table for a base clearing homer from junior Ashley Cangiano in the next at bat, bringing the lead to 11-2 Pierce.

The Ravens would add another two runs before all was said and done, finalizing the mercy-rule sweep over the Eagles, 14-2.

Junior pitcher  Sabrina Gonzalez (Chandler, Ariz.) made the start for the second time this season, and tossed three innings with only one earned run allowed on three hits, contributing three walks and three strikeouts along the way. Junior Samantha Sylvester (Morris, Conn.) entered in relief and closed things out for Pierce, pitching the final two innings allowing one hit, with one walk and three strikeouts.  

Softball turns their focus to their upcoming trip to Winter Haven, Florida where they will face a variety of teams across a four-day span, beginning with Minnesota State-Mankato this Thursday, March 9^th at 9:00 a.m.