NEW HAVEN, Conn. (April 7, 2018) – The Franklin Pierce University softball team swept their second doubleheader of the season and the first against a Northeast-10 Conference opponent Saturday as they dispatched Southern Connecticut State University 4-1 and 9-4. With the wins, the Ravens improve to 5-13, 2-6 NE10 while the Owls drop to 5-15, 0-5 NE10. The Ravens two conference victories bested their 2017 total of one.

Game One: Ravens 4, Owls 1 (Final)

Cyrena Zemaitis (Goshen, Conn.) was dominant in game one of the twinbill as the freshman hurled a complete game three-hitter only allowing one run, one walk while striking out nine batters. She improved to 3-5 on the campaign. Cleanup hitter and third basemen Ashley Conway (Salem, N.H.) was 2-for-3 (.667) with one run scored and an RBI. First basemen Bre Eastlick (Rocklin, Calif.) and right fielder Aubrey Bianco (Marlboro, N.Y.) roped doubles each.

The Ravens scored the first run of the ballgame in the bottom of the second frame. With one down, Bianco reached first via a fielder's choice and advanced to second base on an error. The next batter, catcher Rachel Vecchiarelli (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) stroked an RBI single up the middle to plate Bianco and more importantly give the Ravens a 1-0 lead.  

In the bottom of the third, shortstop Allison Shaw (Bakersfield, Calif.) singled with one down and stole second base. Following a fly out to left field, Conway drove home Shaw by ripping a single down the left field line to make the score 2-0. Designated player Dominique Bisaccia (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) followed suit with a single to left, which brought in Conway and increased the Raven edge to 3-0. Abbigael Cook (Smithfield, R.I.) pinch ran for Bisaccia and immediately scored as the next batter, Bianco smoked a double to center to up the lead to 4-0.

Over the next three innings, Zemaitis allowed no runners to reach base until the top of the seventh as shortstop Bryanna McIntosh singled to third. With two outs, Caitlyn Parisi pinch-hit and got her squad on the board with an RBI single. Zemaitis sent Heather Jackson down swinging for her ninth "K" and final out of game one.

Game Two: Ravens 9, Owls 4 (Final)

Sophomore lefthander Amelia Mamone (Wynantskill, N.Y.) went the distance in game two for her first complete game of the year. She allowed eight hits, four runs while sending five batters back to the dugout by way of the k. Senior outfielder Jaclyn Cortese (Upton, Mass.) pinch hit twice and was 2-for-2 (1.000) with two RBI and a two-bagger.

As they did in game one, the Crimson and Grey cracked the scoring column first in the bottom of the second as they put up a five spot. Bisaccia started the hit parade with a double to left field. Conway followed by singling up the middle to put runners at the corners with no outs. Following a pop out to first, Cook, who ran for Bisaccia again crossed the plate on a passed ball to move Pierce ahead 1-0. After a fielder's choice groundout, the bases were full of Ravens with two outs. Eastlick used a keen eye and walked home a run to give the Ravens a 2-0 lead. Cortese walked as well after pinch-hitting for Shaw to increase the score to 3-0. Before the third out of the inning, the Ravens tacked on two more runs using the second passed ball of the inning to tack on runs at 5-0.

Southern Connecticut got two of those runs back via a two-out single off the bat of McIntosh, but she was thrown out trying to stretch the single into a double to end the frame. In the bottom of the fourth, RBI singles by Cassidy Sorenson (Billerica, Mass.) and Bisaccia upped the edge to 7-2 before a two-out double from Bianco gave FPU an 8-2 advantage.

A Cortese single up the middle added an insurance run to the Raven line score as SCSU only chipped in two more runs over the remaining innings.

The Ravens remain in New Haven as they travel to the University of New Haven for a doubleheader tomorrow at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce softball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store). You can also follow the softball team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/fFPUSoftball_) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpu_ravens_softball).