GAME ONE BOX SCORE | GAME TWO BOX SCORE

When and Where: April 8, 2017 – Easton, Mass. (Stonehill College)
Game One Score: LIU Post 3, Southern New Hampshire University 2 (8 innings)
Game Two Score: Southern New Hampshire University 7, LIU Post 4
Records: SNHU 13-11, LIU Post 14-12 

Junior Sarah Lavallee (Candia, N.H.) belted a pair of home runs and struck out eight in six innings of work on Saturday, as the Southern New Hampshire University softball team split a nonconference doubleheader with LIU Post at Stonehill College. The Penmen dropped the opener, 3-2 in eight innings, before rallying for a 7-4 triumph in game two.

After being no-hit through the first five innings of play and falling behind, 4-0, in Saturday's second game, Southern New Hampshire exploded for seven runs and three home runs in the home half of the sixth. Senior Devan Rabidou (Ashland, Mass.) worked a walk to lead off the frame before junior Katie Horiuchi (Livingston, N.J.) drilled a two-run shot to cut the deficit in half. Back-to-back free passes to freshman Hannah Neverett (Nashua, N.H.) and junior Brittany Perdigao (Stoughton, Mass.) put two on for sophomore Erin Garczynski (Norwood, Mass.), and she smacked a run-scoring double to make it 4-3. Freshman Erin Tyrell (Milford, N.H.) stepped in next and drilled a 1-1 offering up and out for a three-run blast to put the Penmen ahead, 6-4. Lavallee put the exclamation point on the inning by going back-to-back with Tyrell, as she connected on a solo shot to cap the inning's scoring.

Senior Nicole Gubellini (Salem, N.H.) returned to the circle for her fourth inning of relief in the top of the seventh, and worked around a leadoff single and a walk to fan two of the final three outs she recorded.

Gubellini earned the victory after allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out seven in four shutout innings. Freshman Maddy Barone (Halifax, Mass.) tossed the first three innings, and surrendered four runs on seven hits while striking out two.

After Lavallee kept LIU Post off the board through its first two trips to the plate, she provided herself with some offensive support by means of a solo shot to lead things off in the second.

The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the fourth, when the Penmen tacked on an additional run without a hit. Lavallee drew a one-out walk before senior Jessica Torsiello (Morris Plains, N.J.) reached on a fielder's choice, and an error on the play allowed Lavallee to scamper into second. After a groundout moved the pair up to second and third with two away, a dropped third strike and wild pitch to the ensuing hitter allowed for Lavallee to scuttle across with the second SNHU run.

Lavallee cruised through the fifth before running into trouble in the sixth. She fanned the leadoff batter before surrendering a walk to put one on with one away. After striking out the following hitter, Julia Seader tagged a two-run shot to even the score at two apiece.

Neither side was able to push another run across until the top of the eighth, when an RBI single by the Pioneers' Samantha Marrone proved to be the difference in game one.

Lavallee finished 1-for-2 at the plate with a pair of walks, and allowed just two runs on three hits with eight strikeouts in six innings of work. Garczynski finished 2-for-4 in the opener, and freshman Gabriella Vachon (Newton, Mass.) was saddled with the loss after surrendering on run on two hits in two innings. 

Notes:
- The Penmen were outhit Saturday, 14-9, over the two-game set. Southern New Hampshire drew five free passes, and of the five two reach on walks, four came around to score.
- Game two snapped SNHU's first four-game losing streak since the 2011 season. The Penmen fell to Southern Connecticut State University, the University of New Haven twice, and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell from April 30 through May 3.
- Southern New Hampshire and LIU Post have met 10 times on the softball diamond since the 2013 season. Nine of the 10 games have been decided by three runs or fewer, six were one-run contests and five have gone to extra innings.

What's Next:
Southern New Hampshire hosts its much awaited home opener on Monday (April 10) when it welcomes Post University to the SNHU Softball Field for a doubleheader slated to begin at 2 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 e-mail newsletters about your favorite Penmen teams here.