Ashley Keegan
Ashley Keegan

Saint Anselm Takes a Pair from Bentley in Regular Season Finale

WALTHAM, Mass. – Junior Morgan Perry (Bethany, Conn.) pitched a six-hitter in the opener and sophomore Courtney Fisher (Taunton) followed with a four-hit shutout in game two as Saint Anselm College swept Bentley University, 4-1 and 3-0, Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division softball Saturday afternoon on the Bentley softball field.

Bentley finished the regular season at 18-24 overall and 10-11 in the division. The Falcons will need St. Michael's College to upset Assumption College Sunday morning in order to have the season continue in the NE10 championship tournament.

Meanwhile, Saint Anselm stretched its winning streak to ten and improved to 35-8 overall (19-2 Northeast Division).

Like Saint Anselm, Bentley received quality pitching throughout the afternoon. Sophomore Ashley Keegan (Pittsfield/Taconic HS) was locked in a 1-1 duel with Perry in the opener through seven innings. In game two, sophomore Lauren Calabrese (Cave Creek, Ariz./Boulder Creek HS) blanked the Hawks during the first six before yielding three in the seventh.

In the first game, Saint Anselm opened the top of the eighth with three straight hits before a single by senior Jordan O'Connor (New Fairfield, Conn.) drove in the go-ahead run with a single to center. Later in the inning, freshman second baseman Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.) squeezed in a run and sophomore designated player Maddison Leite (Cumberland, R.I.) followed with a sacrifice fly.

After four scoreless innings, Saint Anselm took a 1-0 lead on a fifth-inning RBI double by junior center fielder Erin Thompson (Newton, N.H.). Bentley countered in the sixth with freshman catcher Erin Hillier (Tualitin, Ore./Tualitin HS) picking up her 28th RBI of the season with a triple to left center. She was on third with no outs, but was stranded there.

Bentley had a chance earlier in the game but couldn't score despite having the bases loaded with one out in the fourth.

In game two, Fitzpatrick plated the game's first run with an RBI single and the Hawks picked up two insurance runs later in the inning.

Junior left fielder Stacey Korotsky (Raynham/Bridgewater-Raynham Reg. HS) had three hits in the two games for Bentley, raising her team-leading average to .316.

Perry, who won her 20th game of the season and 16th straight, fanned nine and walked one. Fisher had five strikeouts and no walks with the victory her tenth in 11 decisions.