EASTON, Mass. (April 4, 2025) – The Stonehill College softball team split a pair of Northeast Conference contests at Fr. Gartland Field against Mercyhurst University on Friday, winning the first game 10-5 before dropping the second, 8-5.
 
GAME 1 – Stonehill 10 (8-20, 1-6 NEC), Mercyhurst 5 (2-22, 0-10 NEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercyhurst jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Eliza Reynolds led off the game with a home run followed by a runner coming around to score on a pair of errant throws.
 
Stonehill tied it up in the bottom half of the first on an RBI single from sophomore Harper Sullivan (Glendale, Ariz.) before Sullivan scored the tying run on a double steal.
 
Mercyhurst scored on a groundout to the pitcher with the bases loaded and then cleared the runners on second and third in the next at-bat with a double into the right-centerfield gap to take a 5-2 lead in the second inning.
 
After a pair of walks and a single, freshman Grace Conaway (St. Paul Park, Minn.) drove in the Skyhawks' third run in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice fly to left. Redshirt junior May Dawes (Beacon Falls, Conn.) added another run with an RBI double into the gap in right-center in the third. Sullivan got into a groove on the mound, striking out two Lakers in the fourth inning to keep Stonehill within one, 5-4.
 
The Skyhawks took their first lead of the game in the bottom half of the fourth when sophomore Piper Hofmann (Windermere, Fla.) blasted the ball over the left-field fence with a runner on first. The homer made the score 6-5 in favor of the Skyhawks and Sullivan kept Mercyhurst from scoring for the rest of the game as Stonehill added to its lead and won the game, 10-5.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Senior Isabella Therrien (Auburn, Mass.) went 3-3 at the plate, drawing a walk with two doubles, two runs batted in, and two stolen bases.
• Conaway scored three times with two base hits and a run batted in. Fellow first-year Melanie Snyder (Howard Beach, N.Y.) had a double, going 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Sullivan improved to 2-2 in the circle with 5.1 IP, three hits allowed, one walk, and a career-high four strikeouts.

 
GAME 1 – Mercyhurst 8 (3-22, 1-10 NEC), Stonehill 5 (8-21, 1-7 NEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Eliza Reynolds led off the second game with a home run, just like the first one, as Mercyhurst took another early lead. Hofmann tied the score in the bottom half of the first, and Sullivan drove in one more run in the inning on a sacrifice fly.
 
Jaz Sanders put the Lakers back in front in the top of the third with a three-run homer over the right field fence. Mercyhurst put up a fifth run in the inning after an infield error allowed a runner to come across from third.
 
Dawes cut into the Laker lead in the third with a two-RBI single through the right side of the infield to make the score 5-4. Mercyhurst held the Skyhawk offense in check for the next three innings while adding three runs as the Lakers built a four-run advantage, 8-4.
 
Stonehill began to rally in the seventh with a leadoff double from Conaway followed by an RBI single from Therrien, but Mercyhurst secured the win, 8-5.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Conaway and Sullivan tallied two hits apiece while Therrien had three for the second game in a row. Dawes led the team with two RBI.
• Hofmann launched her third home run of the season, tied for the most on the team.
• The Skyhawks combined for a season-high six stolen bases, with Snyder nabbing two of them herself.

UP NEXT

• Stonehill softball is back at home tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Fr. Gartland Field for the series finale against Mercyhurst in a Northeast Conference matchup.

 
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