Saint Anselm 7, Adelphi 3 - Box Score
Saint Anselm 2, Adelphi 1 - Box Score
Hawks Sweep Panthers for NE10 Crown
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm Hawks captured their second straight Northeast-10 Conference Softball Championship, sweeping Adelphi 7-3 and 2-1 on Friday afternoon in Manchester.
The No. 18 Hawks have won 13 consecutive games as they improved to 29-4 and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championship. Saint Anselm, ranked second in the most recent NCAA Division II East Region rankings, will find out their opponent and seeding via the NCAA Division II Championship selection show slated for Sunday, May 16 at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com.
Adelphi, the six-time Southwest Division Champions, drop to 27-8 and will likely qualify for the upcoming NCAA tournament by virtue of their No. 3 position in the most recent regional rankings.
After 16 appearances in the NE10 Tournament in program history, the Hawks are now two-time winners of the team trophy, claiming a 7-3 victory in game one then clinching the title with a close 2-1 triumph in game two.
Junior Bre Klaiber, who earned a spot on the NE10 All-Tournament Team, gave the Hawks a tremendous spark in the first inning of game one, hitting a clutch two-run home run to help the Hawks keep the offense going and added a solo shot in game two for a 1-0 lead. Klaiber also tied her 2020 home run mark with four after Friday's two home-run performance.
Tied 1-1 heading into the seventh of game two, a defensive miscue by Adelphi allowed pinch-runner sophomore Jess Persechino to score from second base for the game-winning run. The game was also highlighted by a dominant pitching performance from the NE10 All-Tournament Most Valuable Player, sophomore McKenna Smith, who only allowed three hits and one run, striking out four batters in the process.
GAME ONE: No. 18 Saint Anselm 7, Adelphi 3
The opening contest featured four total home runs with two each coming from Adelphi and Saint Anselm. The Panthers got started with their first at-bat of the game as Emily Whitman sent a home run over the center field wall. In the bottom half of the inning, following a sophomore Kylie Fitzpatrick single, Klaiber was able to get hold of a pitch and clobber a home run over the left field wall, putting the Hawks up 2-1.
The Hawks generated a five-hit, five-run second inning off a two-run single and a three-run home run. Early in the inning, with runners on second and third, Colson single up the middle, scoring both runs to increase the team's advantage to 4-1. The Hawks bats kept going as senior Lauren Washburn recorded her fourth home run of the season, extending the Hawks lead to 7-1.
In her second at-bat of the day, Whitman narrowed the deficit to a five-run game off a home run to left field in the third. Adelphi only scored one more run on senior Morgan Perry and the Hawks defense in the remainder of the contest as she secured her 17th win of the season without a defeat, logging three straight strikeouts in the seventh.
In the circle, Perry surrendered eight hits, three runs, while also fanning eight batters, pushing her season total to 190 strikeouts. She is also one complete game away from tying the program's leader, Lori Cillo '94, with 76 in a single career.
GAME TWO: No. 18 Saint Anselm 2, Adelphi 1
There was only one hit in the first three innings as game two proved to be a defensive battle. Smith held a no-hitter up until the bottom of the fourth when Faith Camilleri singled to right field.
In the meantime, Klaiber stroked her second home run of the day with a bomb to almost the same spot as game one's hit, securing the Hawks a 1-0 lead. With the contest heading into the final two innings, Camilleri tied the game up in the sixth inning after an RBI double was hit over the center fielders' head, scoring Whitman from second.
The Hawks pushed across the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. Following a Cain walk to lead off the inning, senior Erin Thompson laid down a sacrifice bunt, advancing pinch runner Persechino to second. Fitzpatrick hit a hard line drive toward the Adelphi's shortstop, who misplayed the ball and allowed Persechino to slide in safe at home. That was the eventual game-winning run for the Hawks.
For Adelphi, Ally Muller earned the Elite 24 Award for the third time in her impressive career. The senior is a sociology major with a 3.979 GPA.
All-Championship Team
Cyrena Zemaitis – Franklin Pierce
Ava Fitzmaurice – New Haven
Emily Whitman – Adelphi
Claire Fon – Adelphi
Morgan Perry – Saint Anselm
McKenna Smith – Saint Anselm
Bre Klaiber – Saint Anselm
Most Outstanding Player
McKenna Smith – Saint Anselm
Elite 24 Award
Ally Muller - Adelphi (3.979 GPA in sociology)
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.