CLERMONT, Fla. – The Southern New Hampshire University softball team opened the 2015 season with a non-conference doubleheader sweep of Dowling College and the New York Institute of Technology at the National Training Center Softball Complex on Sunday. The Penmen dropped the Lions to 3-1 on the year with a 6-1 victory before topping the Bears, 4-0, in their season opener.

Junior Mo Hannan (Scarborough, Maine) led the Southern New Hampshire offense with four hits, four runs batted in, and two runs scored during the twin-bill. Classmate Katie Caruso (Newton, Mass.) added three hits on Sunday, while fellow junior Lindsey Bolduc (Londonderry, N.H.) drove in a pair. Sophomore Erin Morrissey (Commack, N.Y.) reached base four times in the doubleheader on two hits and two walks, and also scored three runs.

Senior Ali Maloof (Norwood, Mass.) picked up the win in the circle for Southern New Hampshire against Dowling, as she tossed the 62^nd complete game of her career. Maloof fanned five, surrendered six hits, and did not walk a batter.

The Penmen struck first against Dowling with a run in the home half of the first. Hannan led off with a single up the middle before Maloof worked a walk. After a fielder's choice put runners on the corners with one out, Bolduc lifted a sacrifice fly to left that plated Hannan to give Southern New Hampshire a 1-0 advantage.

In the second, the Penmen provided Maloof with all the support she would need as they pushed across two more runs. Freshman Sarah Lavallee (Candia, N.H.) notched the first hit of her career with a base hit to start the inning before Morrissey walked to put two on with nobody out. Three batters later, Hannan rapped a double to right-center that brought in both runners and gave Southern New Hampshire a three-run lead.

The score remained the same until the fourth when the Lions broke through for their first run of the afternoon. After the inning started with a pair of ground outs, Ashley Steponaitis doubled and was driven in when Amber Fogarty tripled to right.

In the bottom half of the frame, the Penmen answered right back. Morrissey walked to lead things off and senior Holly Eicher (Stoneham, Mass.) followed with a single to left. A sacrifice bunt from freshman Brittany Perdigao (Soughton, Mass.) moved the runners into scoring position for Hannan, and she sent a deep fly ball to center to bring in Morrissey and make it 4-1 through four.

Southern New Hampshire scored twice more in the fifth to provide the final margin of victory. Bolduc singled to right and moved up to second on a passed ball. Sophomore Jessica Torsiello (Morris Plains, N.J.) then doubled to right, scoring Bolduc with the game's fifth run. After Torsiello stole third, Morrissey sent a run-scoring single through the middle to give the Penmen a 6-1 lead.

In the nightcap, sophomore Nicole Gubellini (Salem, N.H.) twirled a complete-game shutout in her Southern New Hampshire debut to lift the Penmen. Gubellini scattered four hits and struck out four, while Hannan and Caruso each went 2-for-4 in the victory.

After being held hitless through the first two innings, Southern New Hampshire broke through for a pair of runs in the third. Hannan started the rally with a base hit before Maloof and Caruso each reached on singles. Bolduc then connected on a sacrifice fly to center that scored Hannan, and Maloof scampered in right behind her on an errant throw to make it 2-0.

The Penmen picked up right where they left off in the fourth inning, as they plated two more runs. After Morrissey singled with one out, Lavallee smacked an RBI double to extend the lead to three. Perdigao followed Lavallee with her first collegiate hit, and after a double steal, Hannan knocked in a run with her second base hit in as many innings.

Gubellini cruised through the first four innings, as she allowed just two singles while striking out two. In the fifth, NYIT started off the inning with a single before Gubellini induced a fielder's choice and retired the next hitter on an infield pop up. A hit batter and a walk loaded the bases for the Bears with two outs, but the sophomore righthander punched out the would-be tying run to keep the score at 4-0.

After working around a leadoff single and retiring the side in the sixth, Gubellini needed only eight pitches in the seventh to nail down the victory.

Southern New Hampshire returns to the diamond on Monday with a doubleheader against Saginaw Valley State University and Ashland University. The Penmen square off with the Cardinals at 3 p.m. before facing the Eagles at 5 p.m. NYIT resumes its schedule on Monday with games against the College of Saint Rose and Assumption College, while Dowling will take on the University of Tampa in a twin-bill slated to start at 6 p.m.

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