MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Southern New Hampshire softball team took two games from Stonehill College in doubleheader action Sunday afternoon. With the wins, the Penmen improve to 18-9 overall, while Stonehill falls to 19-20.

In the first game of the day, SNHU bounced back after an early Stonehill lead to win the game by a score of 5-2.

The Skyhawks jumped out to an early lead in the first inning after walking in its first run, and scored once again in the following inning on a Southern New Hampshire throwing error to take a 2-0 lead heading into the third inning.

However, the Penmen chipped away at the deficit in the bottom of the third when Tesia Stanasek (Blackstone, Mass.) doubled to right center to score Ali Maloof (Norwood, Mass.), who reached on a fielder's choice.

Southern New Hampshire scored two more runs in the fourth. With the bases loaded, Nicole Newell (Abington, Mass.) reached first on a Stonehill error to score two runs and take the lead for the first time in the game.

Kate Stanley (Kingston, Mass) homered for the third time in the series to left field in the fifth inning to build on the SNHU lead, and Cara Daly (Plainville, Mass.) followed Stanley with her third blast of the weekend to left center for the second Penmen run of the inning and to boost the lead to 5-2.

Maloof earned the win in the circle for SNHU while pitching a complete game. The sophomore totaled 12 strikeouts while giving up just two runs. Megan Ruonavaara was credited with the loss for Stonehill while pitching five innings and giving up five runs on four hits.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Penmen defeated Stonehill by a score of 14-4 in five innings.

After retiring the Skyhawks side in the top of the first inning, the Penmen took an early 1-0 lead when Stanley knocked out her fourth homerun of the weekend to left field.

Stonehill answered in the second when Lindsey McKillop led off with a solo homerun to tie the game at 1-1.

However, the Penmen compiled eight runs in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead. Daly led the inning off with a single, and continued to advance to third. With two runners in scoring position, Jessica Douillette (Concord, N.H.) singled to right field to score two runs, and a Stanasek single scored two more runs. Stanley followed with a hit up the middle to score one more and to bring up the top of the order once again. Daly earned an RBI when she singled through the left side to bring Stanasek around the bases, and two Stonehill errors brought in the seventh and eighth run of the inning.

Southern New Hampshire built on the lead again in the third inning when Stanley notched another RBI followed by two Kelsea Cheney (Abington, Mass.) RBIs to bring the lead to 12-1.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Skyhawks scored three more runs to cut the deficit to eight, but the Penmen answered again in the top of the inning with two runs to end the game in the fifth by the eight-run rule. 

Dolores Mattice (Schenectady, N.Y.) got her seventh win for the Penmen while pitching five innings and allowing just three hits, four runs, and totaling five strikeouts. McKillop got the loss in the circle for Stonehill after giving up seven runs and seven hits.

The Penmen return to action Tuesday, April 16 when they host Saint Anselm College for a 5:00 p.m. Northeast-10 Conference game at Penmen Field.