RINDGE, N.H. (4/15/23) – On a cloudy Sunday afternoon, The Franklin Pierce University softball got swept by Northeast-10 Conference opponent No.17 Adelphi University, dropping both games by scores of 2-1 and 6-3 at Bisaccia Field.  

With the pair of losses, Pierce Softball drops to a 25-14 overall record (9-5 NE10) while Adelphi University improves to a 31-6 overall record (12-3 NE10).

GAME #1

After a quiet start through a scoreless first inning for both sides, Adelphi would break the ice in game one via an infield RBI single by Jaden Farhat. Later on down the line, the Ravens would answer right back in the top of the second inning as junior Haley Bigwood (Athol, Mass.) unloaded a solo home run over the left field fence, knotting the game up at 1-1.

In the hunt to reclaim the lead, the Panthers would do just that in the upper half of the third inning, once again on an RBI single, this time from Courtney Wengryn. From there, the game would become a tight defensive battle and remain a 2-1 score in favor of the visitors, giving Pierce a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Haley Bigwood would be walked putting the tying run on the base paths. Directly after, senior Melissa Konopinski (Butler, N.J) would fail to connect with fly-out to center, making it a two outs. To win the game for Adelphi, catcher Angela Lignelli would then catch freshman Amy Jones (San Diego, Calif.) stealing second, finalizing the score at 2-1.

Adelphi pitcher Lindsey Hibbs would largely contribute to the Panther's success as she limited the Ravens to only one run on two hits, walking to with nine strikeouts. In the circle for Pierce, junior Abby Poirot (Winstead, Conn.) would toss the complete game in her 11^th start of the season, allowing one earned run on six hits and one walk while striking out four to take the game one loss (7-5).

GAME #2

In the first inning, Adelphi would harness some of the opening game momentum and put Franklin Pierce in the early 3-0 hole. To start the scoring, Courtney Wengryn plated a run with an RBI single to left field, which would be promptly followed by a two run homer from Alexa Sacripante. Two innings later, the Panthers would add extend their lead to 5-0 on a sacrifice fly-out from third baseman Kendall Winn, scoring one, and a RBI groundout from shortstop Angelina Kellogg.

In the fourth, Pierce would break their silence and cut the Adelphi lead down to 5-2. Opening the scoring for Pierce would be senior Hailey Melchert (Lake Orion, Mich.), who's single to center field would plate a run. To cap it off, senior Melissa Konopinski would leg-out a throw from the Adelphi second baseman for an RBI infield base hit, bringing home another run.

However, the sixth inning would yield an insurance run for Adelphi by way of a wild pitch from freshman Savannah Arreguin (Pacoima, Calif.) that bought enough time for Jaden Farhat to slide across home plate. In an effort to re-ignite the Raven offense, Melissa Konopinski once again showcased some speed with an even more shallow infield single, this time to the Panther pitcher, to plate her second RBI of the game to make it 6-3 Adelphi.

In the seventh inning, Franklin Pierce would be silenced as all three batters would be forced into groundout scenarios. As a result, Adelphi would complete the sweep of the Ravens with a 6-3 win in the Sunday night cap.

In the circle, junior Sabrina Gonzalez (Chandler, Ariz.) made her eleventh start of the season and lasted through three innings with three earned runs on eight Adelphi hits. Freshman Savannah Arreguin came in to try and limit the damage, and pitched through the remaining four innings to allow one run on three hits and one walk, recording one strikeout.

Franklin Pierce University Softball will have a few days off before returning to Northeast-10 conference play, when they will host in-state rival Saint Anselm College on Wednesday, April 19^th for a 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. doubleheader at South Athletic Fields.