Junior Katy Abarr belted two home runs, including a two-run shot in game one to provide all the offense the Skyhawks would need.

Stonehill Earns Split With Southern Connecticut State

Mendall pitches Skyhawks to 3-0 win in game one, Owls rebound for 5-3 win in game two

EASTON, Mass. (April 19, 2010) – Stonehill College picked up a key doubleheader split with second-place Southern Connecticut State University in Northeast-10 Conference softball action at Fr. William Gartland, C.S.C., Field this afternoon. The game was a makeup of Saturday's rained out doubleheader. The Skyhawks posted a 3-0 victory in game one, while the Owls rebounded for a 5-3 win in game two.

Freshman Nicole Eisenmann (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) and junior Katy Abarr (Richmond, R.I./The Prout School) paced the Stonehill offense on the afternoon. Eisenmann hit a combined 3-for-4 with a pair of walks, a run scored, home run and two RBI, while Abarr finished a combined 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI.

Freshman Kristin Whitley (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) was a combined 3-for-6 with a double and RBI to lead Southern Connecticut State, which entered the doubleheader winners of eight straight. Senior Megan Caporossi (Northford, Conn./North Branford) finished 3-for-7 with two runs scored, two stolen bases, a home run and RBI.

Stonehill 3, Southern Connecticut State 0 (Game One)
Boxscore

Senior Kait Mendall (Middleboro, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) fired a four-hit shutout to lead Stonehill to a 3-0 win in game one, snapping Southern Connecticut's eight-game winning streak.

Senior Kait Mendall fired a four-hit shutout to lead the Skyhawks to the big game one win.

Mendall (6-2) scattered the four hits and a walk over her seven innings with three strikeouts for Stonehill.

Katy Abarr paced the Stonehill offense, hitting 1-for-3 with a key home run and two RBI. Freshman Courtney Marchand (Danville, N.H./Timberlane) was 1-for-2 with a walk, double and RBI.

Sophomore Jayme Larson (Aurora, Colo./Smokyhill) took the loss (9-5) for Southern, surrendering three earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and five walks over six innings.

Sophomore Alyssa Pagano (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) hit 1-for-3 with a double for SCSU, while Megan Camporossi finished 1-for-3 with a stolen base.

The game was scoreless until the fourth when Stonehill scored all the runs it would need with a pair in the bottom of the frame. Nicole Eisenmann led off with a walk, and then was lifted for a pinch-runner, who scored when Abarr belted her first home run of the afternoon beyond the fence in left with two out. The Skyhawks added an insurance run in the fifth when freshman Kelsey Wilcox (Canterbury, Conn./Griswold) drew a two-out walk to keep the inning alive. Sophomore Kellie Reardon (Burlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic) entered as a pinch-runner and scored from first on a double off the base of the wall in right by Marchand.

It was more than enough for Mendall who cruised until the seventh when Southern Connecticut was able to send the tying run to the plate after Pagano doubled and Whitley walked to lead off the inning. Mendall recovered with a strikeout, ground out to short and fly out to right to escape the jam and clinch the Skyhawks seventh win in nine games.

Southern Connecticut State 5, Stonehill 3 (Game Two)
Boxscore

Southern Connecticut rebounded in game two with nine hits, including two home runs, to post a 5-2 win and earn a split in the doubleheader.

Kristin Whitley led Southern by hitting 3-for-4 with a double and RBI. Megan Caporossi batted 2-for-4 with a stolen base, home run, RBI and two runs scored, while sophomore Shawna Mallory (Simi Valley, Calif./Royal) finished 1-for-2 with two RBI.

Freshman Nicole Eisenmann was 3-for-3 at the plate in game two with a two-run home run give the Skyhawks an early 2-0 lead.

Sophomore Brittany Hill (Durham, Conn./Coginchaug Regional) picked up the complete game win (5-4), allowing three earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks over the seven innings.

Nicole Eisenmann hit 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBI for Stonehill. Katy Abarr batted 1-for-2 with a walk and home run, while sophomore Chelsea Stryker (Baldwin, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) finished 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Sophomore Kaitlin Andrews (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) took the loss (2-3), yielding four runs, three earned, on seven hits in three-plus innings. Classmate Kellie Reardon (Burlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic) turned in 3.2 innings of strong relief for the Skyhawks, allowing an earned run on just two hits with a strikeout and two walks.

Stonehill struck first again with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Stryker led off with a bunt single and later scored when Eisenmann delivered her second home run of the season to deep rightfield with two out.

Southern knotted the score with single runs in the second and third. The Owls cut their deficit in half in the second on an RBI single through the left side by Mallory. Caporossi belted her sixth home run of the season to right center with one out in the third to knot the score at 2-2.

Sophomore Jessica Rosa (Wallingford, Conn./Mercy) gave Southern its first lead when she led off the fourth with her second home run of the season. The Owls gained a two-run lead as freshman Alyssa Downs (Seymour, Conn./Seymour) followed the home run with a single through the left side. Mallory greeted Reardon with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Downs.

Southern extended its lead to 5-2 in the seventh on an RBI double off the wall in right by Whitley. Stonehill threatened in the home half as Abarr led off the inning with her third home runs of the season (second of the afternoon) to left. The Skyhawks brought the tying run to the plate, but Hill got a pair of groundouts to clinch the Owls win.

Stonehill (14-12-1, 9-7 NE-10) is back in action on Wednesday when it visits Merrimack College for an NE-10 doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. The Skyhawks return home on Thursday to makeup Sunday's rained out doubleheader against 10^th-ranked University of New Haven at 3 p.m. Southern Connecticut (25-9, 13-3 NE-10) hosts Le Moyne College for a doubleheader on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.