April 25, 2011
Box Score Game 1 | Box Score Game 2
Photo Gallery
Entering today's games, the Saint Anselm Hawks had won seven in a row, a streak that was snapped by the River Hawks in dramatic fashion. Trailing 8-1 entering the bottom of the fifth, the River Hawks tallied eight unanswered runs, capped by a walk-off home run from junior LF Caelyn Ford (Dracut, Mass.) in the bottom of the seventh to win the game 9-8. In the second game, it was classmate Elyssa Boris (Gardner, Mass.), who took a one-hitter into the seventh to complete the River Hawk sweep.
With the sweep, the River Hawks improve to 25-18 overall and are above .500 with a 12-10 mark in conference play. The squad is riding a five game winning streak. Saint Anselm falls to 18-16 on the year with a 10-9 mark in NE-10 action.
In game one, the Hawks got on the board with a solo home run in the top of the second, but Ford retaliated in the bottom of the frame with a solo shot to tie the game at one apiece.
Saint Anselm continued a steady stream of offense, tallying seven runs over the following three innings to lead the River Hawks 8-1 by the top of the fifth.
The River Hawks came back to life in the bottom of the frame, though, tallying six runs to start an offensive explosion, beginning with a two-run home run from CF Ashley Daniels (Medford, Mass.). The Hawk lead was cut even further on a solo shot from junior SS Meagan Guy (Berlin, Conn.) making it an 8-4 ballgame.
Later in the inning, NE-10 Pitcher of the Week Boris hit a rocket down the left field line to score senior 1B Heather Ross (Waltham, Mass.) and was scored by the next batter, Panarelli (Shrewsbury, Mass.), who hit a single in the same spot, cutting the Saint Anselm lead to two. Ford tacked on another RBI for the day, scoring Panarelli on a single to center field and the squad had depleted the seven-run deficit to just one by inning's end.
Katie Mazure (Burlington, Mass.) led the bottom of the seventh with a double to left center and pinch runner Hilary Hopkins (San Diego, Calif.) advanced to third on a wild pitch. Ford then stepped up and blasted her second home run of the game and fourth of the year, a walk-off bomb, to win the game for the River Hawks.
Senior P Rachel Schafler (Floral Park, N.Y.) got the start for the River Hawks and was relieved after five innings by Boris, who was perfect through the final two innings. Saint Anselm's Shannon Dalton got the start and went 4 1/3 innings before being relieved by Christina Boehn, who recorded the loss.
Ford finished the game 3-4 from the plate with a pair of home runs, four RBI and two runs scored. Daniels recorded a pair of RBI, while both Krista MacKenzie (Ipswich, Mass.) and Guy went 2-3.
In game two, both teams remained scoreless through three, but Panarelli put the River Hawks up 1-0 with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Ross.
Boris helped her cause, giving the squad some insurance on a single to center field, tacking on another run to make it a 2-0 ballgame in the bottom of the sixth.
Boris threw the complete game, allowing three hits and no runs. She improved to 17-14 on the year, while Saint Anselm's Kelly DeSormier picked up the loss.
In between games, the River Hawks celebrated the accomplishments of the four-member senior class, which includes Hopkins, Ross, Schafler and Kristie Kyzer (Boxborough, Mass.).
The River Hawks will continue trekking through their schedule with a conference doubleheader at Franklin Pierce tomorrow afternoon. The action will begin in Rindge, N.H. at 3 p.m. The squad returns home on Friday to host the LeMoyne Dolphins beginning at 2 p.m. The doubleheader was rescheduled from Saturday morning due to rain.
