Worcester, Mass. (April 12) -- After giving up a four-run lead to drop the first game of Sunday's doubleheader by a narrow score of 8-7, the Assumption College softball team came back to earn a 12-9 victory over the Franklin Pierce Ravens in game two at the WPI softball field. Sophomore Ashley Clark (Pawtucket, RI / Tolman) blasted a grand slam in game one to help the Hounds to an early lead.

The split marks the Hounds' second against the Ravens, moving Assumption's record to 13-10 overall, 5-6 in the NE-10, while Franklin Pierce is now 3-8, 3-5 in the league.

Assumption is scheduled to travel to Merrimack on Monday, April 13, for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. before facing Southern New Hampshire on the road at 4 p.m. on Tuesday to cap four-straight days of play.

Game One: Franklin Pierce 8, Assumption 7

Freshman Kendal Roy (Grafton, Mass. / Grafton) started game one for the Hounds, pitching five innings, but was relieved by junior Jess Underwood (Hudson, N.H. / Alvirne) in the sixth before returning to close in the seventh. Roy allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits while Underwood allowed three runs on three hits in the sixth. Underwood takes the loss for the Hounds and is now 4-4 on the season.

Franklin Pierce took the lead in the top of the second on a solo homer down the left-field line, 1-0, before the Hounds tied it up in the bottom of the frame on three-straight singles to the outfield.

Freshman Stephanie Menard (Cranston, R.I. / Cranston HS West) drilled a single to left followed by senior Andrea Crowley (Norfolk, Mass. / Ursuline Academy) to right. With two on and just one out, sophomore Cassie Schultz (Amesbury, Mass. / Amesbury) knocked another deep to right center to score Menard and advance Crowley to third.

Sophomore Cassidy Colby (Charlton, Mass. / Shepherd Hill) earned a walk to first, loading the bases for Assumption before junior Kayli Moniz (Fairhaven, Mass. / Fairhaven) lined out to shortstop, bases loaded, two outs. 

Clark performed flawlessly under pressure, blasting a grand slam that bounced off the top of the fence and trickled over for Clark's first homer of the season, 5-1 Hounds.

Assumption increased its lead in the bottom of the third to 6-1. Sophomore Ashley Abad (Bedford, N.H. / Bedford) led off with a single to center, followed by a single to the pitcher from Menard. Abad was able to sneak to third on the play and scored on a Crowley groundout.

Franklin Pierce capitalized on Greyhound errors in the top of the fourth following a lead-off single to left field from Jamie Wiley. Two-straight flies to left made it two outs with a runner on first, before an error in left allowed Wiley to score and reduce the deficit to four, 6-2.

In the top of the fifth with two outs, Cassidy Sorenson smacked a double that left-fielder Colby lost in the sun. Sorenson was followed by Wiley who notched and RBI line drive to center to make it 6-3.

Continuing the Raven rally, catcher Morgan Cahill followed with a two-run homer over center to clear the bases and bring FPU within one, 6-5.

Underwood relieved Roy in the top of the sixth and Franklin Pierce completed its comeback with a lead-off, solo homer off the bat of the designated player Jacklyn Cortese, 6-6.

The Ravens took the lead for the first time in the game in the sixth when a line drive up the middle scored Courtney Caputo and Tricia Hansen, both of whom walked, for an 8-6 lead.
Roy returned to the circle for the top of the seventh to hold the Ravens to their two-run lead as the Hounds attempted to overcome the deficit in the bottom of the frame.

The Hounds nearly acheived their comeback in the seventh. Senior Ashley Impagliazzo (Glocester, R.I. / LaSalle Academy) led off with a double through the left side, followed by a DiPilato fly out and another double from Abad, landing runners in scoring position with just one out.

Menard sent a hard grounder to third to make it two outs before Crowley reached on a shortstop error to load the bases.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Schultz shot a grounder to the Ravens' shortstop, Caputo, but Caputo was able to flick the ball to second for a close tag of freshman pinch runner Nicole Duplease (Leominster, Mass. / Leominster) to end the game. 

Offensively, the Hounds notched 10 hits in 32 at bats. Moniz, Abad and Menard led with two hits apiece while Clark drove in four of the Hounds' seven runs. The Ravens posted nine hits in 32 at bats, led by Erin Wood who went 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI. Both squads stranded seven runners on base.

Defensively, Assumption committed two errors to the Ravens' one.

Game Two: Assumption 12, Franklin Pierce 9

Three pitchers took to the circle in game two for Assumption. Sophomore Jurnee Serating-Ware (Hudson, Mass. / Hudson) started the contest, allowing two runs on one hit in the first inning. Serating-Ware was relieved by sophomore Nicole Harvey (South Berwick, Maine / Marshwood) in the second who pitched 4.1 innings while allowing six earned runs on 12 hits. The win marks Harvey's first of the season.

Also seeing time in the circle was sophomore Courtney Oliva (Vernon, Conn. / Rockville) who logged 1.2 innings, allowing just no hits and no runs while striking out one batter to close the game for her first save of the season.

The Ravens kicked off game two with a one-out, two-run homer in the top of the first for an early 2-0 lead. The Assumption defense turned in impressive plays to close the inning, first on a swift grab in right center by Clark, followed by a diving catch at second from Abad.

Moniz opened the bottom of the first with a first-pitch blast to the left field fence for a double before Clark made it to first safely on a dropped third strike and an errant throw by the Ravens' catcher, Morgan Cahill. Imagliazzo followed with a single up the middle to score Moniz with no outs, 2-1 Ravens.

Following two Hound outs, freshman Alex Haskell (Bedford, N.H / Bedford) sent a two-RBI single up the middle to give the Hounds a 3-2 lead.

Assumption called upon its pitching arsenal in the bottom of the second, subbing Harvey into the circle. Following the pitcher change, the Ravens reclaimed the lead, notching three runs on five-straight singles for a 5-3 advantage.

Assumption narrowed the gap and took the lead again in the bottom of the second on a Clark double to left field to score Moniz, who had singled with two outs. Moniz hit down the left line and beat out the throw from third to land safely on base.

With two outs, Impagliazzo was walked to put two on base before DiPilato belted a double to the left-center fence to score both for the 6-5 advantage.

Harvey and the Hound defense shut down three straight in the top of the third, ending with a double play from Abad at second to Impagliazzo on first.

Assumption increased its lead to two in the bottom of the third. THe Hounds smacked three-straight doubles, the last of which was off the bat of Gifford, who scored freshman Jordan Shaffer (Plainville, Mass. / King Phillip Regional) for a 7-5 lead.

In the top of the fourth, the Ravens added one more before Shaffer scrambled for a short bunt over the plate to tag Abbi Cook out at home for the second out of the inning, preserving the 7-6 lead. Cahill followed with a fly out to Schultz in right to end the inning.

The Hounds added three more in the bottom of the fourth for a 10-6 lead. Shaffer singled up the middle with the bases loaded to score Abad, who had reached on a fielder's choice, 8-6. Shaffer was followed immediately by a two-run single off the bat of Schultz.

Franklin Pierce brought it within two on a one-out, two-run homer in the top of the sixth, followed by another home run over the right fence to make it 10-9.

In the bottom of the sixth, Assumption tallied two more for the 12-9 final on a two-RBI ground out to short off the bat of Gifford.

The Greyhounds capitalized on three Raven errors while Assumption committed just one fielding error in game two. Assumption tallied 14 hits compared to 13 for Franklin Pierce. Leading the Greyhound offense was Moniz and Schultz with three hits each while Gifford drove in a team-high three runs.

The Hounds are scheduled to travel to Merrimack on Monday for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.

For the latest on Assumption College Athletics follow the Hounds via social media on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. For more information, contact the Office of Athletic Communications at 508-767-7240.