GAME 1 BOX SCORE | GAME 2 BOX SCORE

When and Where: March 24, 2016 – Waterbury, Conn. (LaMoy Field)
Scores: Game One: No. 20 Southern New Hampshire University 17, Post University 11 | Game Two: No. 20 Southern New Hampshire University 7, Post University 1
Records: SNHU 9-5, Post 9-14

No. 20 Southern New Hampshire University belted six home runs and pushed across 24 runs on 23 hits to slug its way to a nonconference doubleheader sweep of Post University at LaMoy Field on Thursday. The Penmen took the first game by a score of 17-11 before handling the Eagles, 7-1, in game two.

Senior Katie Caruso (Newton, Mass.) led the Southern New Hampshire offensive barrage with five hits, two home runs, six RBI and six runs scored in the twinbill. Freshman Erin Garczynski (Norwood, Mass.) added four hits on Thursday, including her first career home run, and also scored five times while driving in three runs.

The Penmen wasted little time in getting on the board in the opener, as they scored three times in the top half of the first. Seniors Mo Hannan (Scarborough, Maine) and Lindsey Bolduc (Londonderry, N.H.) led off the contest with back-to-back walks before Caruso stepped in two batters later and hammered a three-run shot to center to stake the visitors to a 3-0 advantage.

After Post went quietly in the home half of the first, Southern New Hampshire went right back to work with the bats and added four more runs in the top of the second. Junior Erin Morrissey (Commack, N.Y.) led off the frame with a single before Bolduc connected on a two-out, two-run homer to left center to extend the lead to five. Garczynski followed with a base hit up the middle, and Caruso's second long-ball in as many innings gave SNHU a 7-0 edge.

The game was far from over, however, as the Eagles exploded for eight runs and five hits in their second inning at-bats. Post loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk, and Marissa Wilson drew the second base on balls of the frame to make it 7-1. Two consecutive fielder's choices left runners on second and third with two away before Natalie Lennox reached on a fielder's choice of her own that scored Kate Dawson, and reloaded the bags for Kristen Owens. After Owens worked a walk, two runs came in on an error to draw the hosts within two at 7-5. Emily Schaffer knotted the game with a two-run single two batters later, and Dawson pushed Post ahead with a base knock to left to score Erica Ragazzone.

Neither team was able to add to its run total until the fourth when the Penmen regained the lead for good. Bolduc walked and Garczynski singled with one away to put runners on first and second for Caruso, and she drove in her fifth run of the game and tied the score at eight on a base hit to left. Sophomore Sarah Lavallee (Candia, N.H.) sent a single into center to load the bases before a fielder's choice and an error allowed Garczynski to cross the plate with the go-ahead run and keep the sacks full. Caruso scored on a run-scoring groundout by junior Jessica Torsiello (Morris Plains, N.J.), and Southern New Hampshire took a 10-8 lead after three and a half innings of play.

The lead swelled to six runs in the top of the fifth, as SNHU used a pair of two-run homers to effectively put the game out of reach. Sophomore Katie Horiuchi (Livingston, N.J.) worked a leadoff walk before Garczynski crushed her first career tater over the wall in left center. After Caruso followed with a walk, Lavallee launched her second of the year to make it 14-8.

A three-run blast from Schaffer in the bottom of the sixth trimmed the Penmen lead down to 14-11, but RBI singles from Lavallee and Torsiello coupled with a run-scoring miscue by the Eagles vanquished any thoughts of a comeback.

Junior Nicole Gubellini (Salem, N.H.) picked up the win in the circle after allowing three earned runs and eight hits while striking out four in 5.1 innings of relief. Caruso finished 4-for-4 in the opener with two home runs, six RBI and five runs scored while Garczynski and Lavallee were both 3-for-5. Bolduc added two hits in three trips to the plate to go along with two walks, two RBI and two runs.

In nearly identical fashion to game one, Southern New Hampshire jumped out to a 3-0 lead after an inning of play in Thursday's finale. Hannan and Garczynski each singled before moving up to second and third on a wild pitch with one out. After an error allowed Hannan to score, Lavallee tagged an RBI base hit into left. Torsiello singled home Caruso two batters later, and provided Lavallee all the offense she would need in the circle.

The sophomore right-hander kept Post off the board until the third, when Kayla Kresley doubled home Owens to make it 3-1. It would be all the Eagles could muster at the plate for the remainder of the contest as Lavallee surrendered just three hits in the final 4.1 innings of play.

The Penmen pushed their advantage to four in the fourth and capped the game's scoring with two more runs in the seventh. Horiuchi walked with two away in the fourth and Hannan delivered blasted a two-run bomb to center. In the seventh, Garczynski and Gubellini each recorded sacrifice flies to provide the final margin of victory.

Hannan shouldered the load offensively in game two with a 2-for-3 performance that included two RBI and three runs scored. Lavallee improved to 5-2 on the year with a complete-game effort that saw her strikeout five and scatter five hits. 

Notes:
- The 17 runs in game one were the highest single game total for a Southern New Hampshire team since March 2, 2014, when the Penmen knocked off Lake Erie College by a score of 17-1.
- All-nine out Southern New Hampshire's starters reached base in game one, with eight registering at least one hit and five checking in with multi-hit efforts. Eight members of the Penmen lineup in game two reached base at least once.
- Each of Bolduc's three hits went for extra bases on Thursday and is now slugging .692 this season. 67-percent of her hits this season have been of the extra-base variety (12 extra-base hits/18 total hits).

What's Next:
Southern New Hampshire takes to the SNHU Softball Field for the first time in 2016 when it plays host to Merrimack College (5-14, 0-2 Northeast-10) in an NE-10 doubleheader on Saturday (March 26) beginning at noon.

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 e-mail newsletters about your favorite Penmen teams here.