Box Score NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Freshman Sarah Lavallee (Candia, N.H.) and senior Holly Eicher (Stoneham, Mass.) both homered, and the No. 24 Southern New Hampshire University softball team picked up its ninth win in 10 games with a 5-1 road victory over Merrimack College on Wednesday. The Penmen improve to 25-6 and 14-3 in the NE-10, while Warriors fall to 16-23 and 9-12 in league play.
Eicher homered for the second straight game and drove in two runs to lead the Southern New Hampshire offense, while Lavallee recorded her third consecutive multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 afternoon.
Senior Ali Maloof (Norwood, Mass.) upped her record to 16-1 in the circle after she scattered six hits and struck out eight in her 16th complete game of the season. Maloof also extended her hitting streak to 17 games, as she finished with a single and a run scored in the victory.
After a scoreless first, the Penmen provided Maloof with all the offense she would need in the top half of the second. After sophomore Jessica Torsiello (Morris Plains, N.J.) smacked a one-out double, Eicher drilled a 2-0 offering over the wall in left center to give the visitors a two-run advantage.
Lavallee extended the Southern New Hampshire lead to three in the fourth when she connected on her sixth home run of the year. In the bottom of the inning, Merrimack closed the gap to a pair when Haley Currie hit a solo shot to right to make it 3-1 through four.
The Penmen responded in the fifth when junior Katie Caruso (Newton, Mass.) delivered an RBI single to right center that scored Maloof and regained the three-run edge. Southern New Hampshire capped the scoring in the seventh on an RBI fielder's choice by Eicher that scored junior Lindsey Bolduc (Londonderry, N.H.), who reached on a one-out single earlier in the inning, and provided the final margin of victory.
The Penmen return to the diamond on Thursday when they host Saint Anselm College in a Northeast-10 and Queen City Cup clash at 4 p.m. Merrimack is back in action on Friday when it welcomes the Hawks to the Warriors Softball Field at 4 p.m.
For the latest on Southern New Hampshire University athletics, follow the Penmen via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. Sign up to receive text message alerts and email newsletters about your favorite Penmen teams here:http://www.snhupenmen.com/list-signup.
