SMITHFIELD, R.I. (Mar. 25, 2011) – The Saint Francis softball team held leads late in both games, but Bryant rallied to sweep a Northeast Conference-opening doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs scored four unanswered runs to pull out a 4-2 win in Game 1, and then scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 3-2 victory in the nightcap.
Junior
Paige Smith (Saugus, Calif./Valencia) singled and eventually scored on an illegal pitch, while freshman Ashley Thomas delivered an RBI bunt single to give the Red Flash a 2-0 lead in the second inning of Game 1.
However, Bryant tied it up with two runs in the third inning and then took the lead with two more runs in the fifth inning.
Five different players combined for five SFU singles in the game. Sophomores Karlie Miller and Brianna Garcia, and freshman Jasa Mitchell, added singles for the Red Flash. Junior
Megan Layne (Vallejo, Calif./Rodriguez) suffered the loss in giving up three earned runs on eight hits. She struck out four and walked two in 6.0 innings.
Bryant took a 1-0 lead in the third inning of Game 2, but Saint Francis finally took the lead on three straight two-out doubles in the fourth inning. Smith started it with her double and was followed with RBI doubles by junior
Courtney Francis (Jefferson, Ohio/Jefferson Area) and then Miller.
The tough luck Red Flash had a pivotal run tagged out in the top of the seventh inning before the Bulldogs rallied for the tying and winning runs. A leadoff triple scored on a wild pitch, and then a two-out walk, single and double led to the winning run.
Francis, Miller and Thomas were all 2-for-3 for SFU, while Smith and Garcia had one hit apiece. Six of Saint Francis' eight hits in the game were doubles.
For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Saint Francis softball, follow Director of Athletic Communications Bob Volkert on Twitter (@SFUVolkert) and check
www.SFUathletics.com. The Red Flash are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SFUAthletics.
