GAME ONE BOX SCORE
GAME TWO BOX SCORE
When and Where: April 7, 2017 – Springfield, Mass. (Judy Groff Field)
Game One Score: American International College 3, Southern New Hampshire University 0
Game Two Score: American International College 6, Southern New Hampshire University 0
Records: SNHU 12-10 (1-5 Northeast-10 Conference), AIC 8-11 (5-3 Northeast-10 Conference)
Junior Sarah Lavallee (Candia, N.H.) allowed just one earned run and struck out nine in 6.1 innings of relief in game two, but the Southern New Hampshire University softball team was shutout twice by American International College in Northeast-10 Conference softball action at Judy Groff Field. The Penmen fell in game one, 3-0, before dropping the finale, 6-0.
Lavallee also finished 1-for-3 at the plate in game two, while sophomore Erin Garczynski (Norwood, Mass.) also turned in a 1-for-3 day at the dish to account for all of Southern New Hampshire's offense. The Penmen combined for three hits in the opener on singles by seniors Jessica Torsiello (Morris Plains, N.J.) and Erin Morrissey (Commack, N.Y.), and junior Katie Horiuchi (Livingston, N.J.).
Friday's first game was scoreless through the first two innings before the Yellow Jackets pushed across a pair of runs in the top of the third. After Lydia DePina led off the inning with a double down the line in left, Alexa DiLeo connected on a two-out, two-run shot to put American International, who was the visiting team in both games, ahead.
Southern New Hampshire's best chance to cut into the deficit came in the home half of the fifth. Freshman Jordan Wade (Taunton, Mass.) worked a free pass to start the frame before Morrissey moved her up to second on a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, Horiuchi drew a walk to put two on with two away, but Sarah Beliveau escaped the jam but fanning the ensuing hitter.
A two-out single off the bat of Kristen Steele put the Yellow Jackets up by three before the Penmen attempted to mount a rally in the bottom of the seventh. After Morrissey lined a one-out base hit to left center, Horiuchi singled through the left side two batters later to put runners on first and second. It would be as close as Southern New Hampshire would come to scratching across a run, as Beliveau recorded the game's final out on a ground out to second.
Beliveau struck out four in the complete-game effort while working around four walks and three singles. Freshman Maddy Barone (Halifax, Mass.) was tagged with the loss after working 5.2 innings and allowing two earned runs on eight hits and two walks with a pair of punchouts.
AIC came out swinging in game two and plated four runs in the top of the first and a fifth in the second. After the Yellow Jackets loaded the bases with one out, Kayla Riley cleared them with a double to left to build a 3-0 advantage. Two batters later, Kaley Kempf drove in Riley with a double of her own to give American International a 4-0 lead before a run-scoring triple down the line in right by Yami Lopez-Perez with two outs in the top of the second made it a 5-0 affair.
The Penmen offense again struggled to put runners on base, as it was held hitless until the bottom of the fourth when Garczynski singled with two away. A Southern New Hampshire miscue with one out in the top of sixth allowed the Yellow Jackets to push across their sixth run and cap the game's scoring.
Jillian Bedard earned the win in the circle for American International after working the first four innings and surrendering just a single hit before turning the ball over to Alyssa Camargo, who provided three innings of one-hit relief. Freshman Gabriella Vachon (Newton, Mass.) suffered the setback for Southern New Hampshire after allowing four earned on five hits in two-thirds of an inning.
Notes:
- The Penmen were outhit, 17-5, in the two-game set, and committed three errors while the Yellow Jackets played flawless defense.
- Southern New Hampshire is in the midst of its first three-game regular season losing streak since April 12-14, 2014. The Penmen dropped the second game of a doubleheader against Stonehill College before falling in a single games against the Skyhawks and Franklin Pierce University the following two days. SNHU went on to win eight of its final 11 regular season games and capture the Northeast-10 Conference championship.
What's Next:
Southern New Hampshire looks to bounce back Saturday (April 8) when it heads to Stonehill for a doubleheader against LIU Post at 3 p.m.
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