CLERMONT, Fla. – The Southern New Hampshire softball team improved its winning streak to eight, with two more wins Friday afternoon in Florida. The Penmen defeated West Virginia Wesleyan by a score of 6-5 in extra innings and then defeated Ashland by a score of 6-2 to up their record to 9-1.

In the first game of the day, Cara Daly (Plainville, Mass.) hit a walk-off home run in extra innings to push SNHU past West Virginia Wesleyan by a score of 6-5.

After three scoreless innings in the first game, the Penmen finally got on the board in the fourth, when Morgan Farmer (Kingston, N.H.) led off with a double, and rookie Jessica Torsiello (Morris Plains N.J.) hit her first home run of the season to right field to score two runs.

However, the Bobcats answered with three runs to take the lead in the next inning. A sequence of walks loaded the bases, and Alex Furr connected for a single to score two and keep the bases full, and another run scored when Jacqui Omichinski was hit by a pitch. West Virginia Wesleyan retired the Penmen side in the bottom of the inning and took a 3-2 lead into the sixth.

Despite another scoreless inning for both teams, the seventh inning brought more runs.

The Bobcats scored once more in the seventh when Omichinski homered to left-center to build the lead to two-runs.  But, SNHU answered promptly in the bottom of the inning to for extras. Ali Maloof (Norwood, Mass.) led-off with a single, and Mo Hannan (Scarborough, Maine) drove her in with a double to center field to cut the lead back to one at 4-3. Lindsey Bolduc (Londonderry, N.H.) followed with a single of her own to left, and Hannan was able to score from second to tie the game at 4-4 and force another inning.

The extra-inning started with a runner on second base due to the international rule, and the Bobcats took advantage when Brooklyn Waddel doubled to center field to score Megan Malenstyn, who had been placed on second base to regain the lead.

With the game on the line in the bottom of the eighth, Torsiello was placed on second for SNHU to start the inning. The Bobcats forced one out before Daly homered to center field for the walk-off win.

Dolores Mattice (Schenectady, N.Y.) pitched a complete game for the Penmen earning two strikeouts, giving up eight hits, and five runs.

In the second game of the day, Southern New Hampshire was able to build an early lead in the first inning, and then add to it in the final two to defeat Ashland by a score of 6-2.

SNHU got on the board in the top of the first inning after a pair of singles and a double. Maloof led-off with a single, followed by Holly Eicher (Stoneham, Mass.), and Hannan doubled to left to score Maloof, and to take a 1-0 lead.

Neither team scored again until the bottom of the fifth when Ashland led-off with a home run, and then scored again on a Penmen error to take a 2-1 lead.

However, the Eagles did not hold onto their lead for long, as the Penmen answered in the sixth with three runs, and again in the seventh with two more.

Maloof upped her record to 4-1 in the circle allowing two runs on six hits and striking out six batters for the win.

The Penmen wrap up play in Florida tomorrow, March 8 when they play Shippensburg at 4:00 p.m., and then face Saginaw Valley for a 6:00 p.m. game.

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