LEESBURG, Fla. (3/10/23) - It was a day of opposites for the Franklin Pierce softball team, as they opened their trip to the Spring Games in Leesburg, Florida with a five-inning loss to midwest opponent Minnesota State-Mankato, 12-0, only to bounce back with a win against regional opponent Felician University, 11-4.

The Ravens are now 8-5 on the season while Minnesota State Mankato improved to 10-7 on the season, and Felician breaks even at 3-3 overall. 

Game #1 vs. Minnesota State Mankato

As they had done on numerous occasions this season, the Ravens looked to secure the game's first run in the early goings. However, this time around, the opponent would see that Pierce would not be so lucky. After reaching on an early single, sophomore Lita Vorseth (Mesa, Ariz.) would find herself halted at second after junior Ashley Cangiano  (North Attleboro, Mass.) hit into the fielder's choice, bringing up junior infielder Haley Bigwood (Athol, Mass.) with two outs in the inning. Bigwood would then reach first on an error by the Mavericks shortstop, placing Cangiano in scoring position at second. With the chance to plate the first run, senior Melissa Konopinski (Butler, N.J.) would short-hop a groundout to the pitcher, closing out the half inning with a pair left stranded.

Through the first three innings, Minnesota-Mankato charged their way ahead to a 5-0 advantage by way of a pair of homers, a pair of singles and one RBI ground out. The scoring ways would continue for the Mavericks in the bottom of the fourth inning, as they would punish the Ravens with loaded based to expand their lead to 12-0.

After going scoreless throughout the entire stretch, Pierce would fail to find any type of rebuttal in the top of the fifth, as the Maverick defense would retire the Ravens in one-two-three fashion to force the loss by mercy rule.

From the circle, three pitchers saw action on the day for the Ravens. Claiming the loss through three innings pitched was junior Sabrina Gonzalez (Chandler, Ariz.) who surrendered five runs on seven hits, walking four batters with one strikeout. Freshman Kierra Warrix (Indianapolis, Ind.) would relieve Gonzalez in the fourth, but would struggle to stop the bleeding with five runs on two hits and three walks without registering an out.  Freshman Savannah Arreguin (Pacoima, Calif.) would come in to try and limit the damage, pitching the rest of the way through with two runs allowed on five hits.  

Game #2 vs Felician University

Seeking redemption following the opening loss, Pierce would find themselves in a quick 4-0 hole in the first inning. However, the Ravens were able to fight their way out of this one, and would answer with three of their own in the bottom half. To open the scoring, junior Haley Bigwood started things off with a single up the middle to haul home the first run on the day. Likewise, sophomore Lita Vorseth would also single to center, plating another pair of runs to round out the first inning scoring, with the team still trailing by one.

In the next inning, the Ravens would pick it right back up on an RBI single to right field from sophomore Bella Williams (Phoenix, Ariz.), scoring Savannah Arreguin to even the odds at 4-4. Junior Ashley Cangiano kept the trend going with her own single in the next at bat, this time to left field, plating yet another run before scoring herself via a single to center by Haley Bigwood. With their first lead of the day in hand, Pierce would also now hold complete control of the game, leading 6-4.

After a scoreless third inning, Pierce would look to add some insurance in the fourth. As she had already done before, Haley Bigwood returned with her second RBI single, this time right up the center, to expand the Raven lead to 7-4. Jumping ahead to the bottom of the fifth, the Ravens would tack on another trio of runs in rather unconventional fashion. With the bases loaded, the first run would come home by way of a wild pitch, advancing the runners at first and second into scoring territory. Then, in the next at bat, the exact same scenario would reward Pierce with another two runs across home plate, as Anna Erikson (Temecula, Calif.) and freshman Kierra Warrix would each score on separate wild pitches, clearing the bases.

With a 10-4 lead in hand, Pierce would add just one final tally in the sixth inning. With the bases once again loaded, a stray pitch would make contact with senior Hailey Melchert (Lake Orion, Mich.), delivering Pierce's 11^th run of the game. With one last half inning to go, Franklin Pierce would not allow Felician any more royalties, and would rebound with the 11-4 victory.

Abby Poirot (Winsted, Conn.) started in the circle for the fourth time this season for the Ravens and would toss through four innings with one earned run allowed on seven hits, one walk and four strikeouts against her former squad. Junior Samantha Sylvester (Morris, Conn.) entered in relief to shut things down, pitching the final three innings, with no runs allowed on equal amount of hits, striking out three.

Softball will have a later start tomorrow on Day 2 of the Spring Games in Winter Haven, Florida, with the opening game against Mercy beginning at 2:00 p.m., and game two versus Edinboro starting at 4:30pm.