RINDGE, N.H. – The Pace University softball team took game one of its doubleheader against Franklin Pierce University by a 4-0 score, then fell 11-0 in game two as the Setters split a pair in NE10 play.
Game One: Pace 4, Franklin Pierce 0
The Setters (19-14, 9-5 NE10) put up a pair of runs in the opening inning to take the early lead. After a pair of walks and a single loaded the bases with two out, senior catcher Carolina Itturiaga singled to left, bringing in two runs to give Pace the lead.
Sophomore pitcher Gisselle Garcia (Lemon Grove, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic) had the ball for the Setters in game one and continued her strong pitching in the 2023 season. She didn't allow a baserunner through the first three innings and didn't allow a hit until the seventh. The sophomore threw her 16th complete game of the year, allowing no runs on one hit while striking out nine.
Pace added another run in the top of the fourth, getting a rally started with two out and nobody on. Sophomore outfielder Alexa Borino (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) got it started with a single, then advanced to second on a stole base. Freshman shortstop Kaylee Matsuda (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Iolani School) then doubled to left, scoring Borino and extending the lead to three.
Garcia continued to roll in the fourth, once again setting the Ravens (25-12, 9-3 NE10) down in order. Pace tacked on once again in the fifth, getting the first two runners on. They advanced to second and third on a sac bunt, then Itturiaga picked up her third RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to make it a four-run game.
Neither team got on the board in the sixth, bringing the game to the final inning. Franklin Pierce got its first hit in the final inning, but the Setters got the final out and took game one by a 4-0 score.
Game Two: Franklin Pierce 11, Pace 0
The Ravens took control early in game two, putting up three runs in the first inning. With one out, a double steal brought in the first run of the game, followed by a pair of two-out RBI singles from Melissa Konopinski and Lita Vorseth made it a three-run game.
Franklin Pierce kept up the offense in the third, adding four more runs to take a 7-0 lead. Ashley Cangiano provided the big blast, hitting a two-run homer to bring in the first two runs of the inning. Another RBI single by Vorseth and an RBI groundout brought in the next two, extending the lead to seven.
The home team kept up the scoring in the fourth, again tacking on four runs to go ahead by 11. Cangiano hit her second home run of the day, a grand slam, to provide all the scoring in the inning.
The Setters got a pair of runners on in the fifth but couldn't get them across as Franklin Pierce took an 11-0 victory in game two.
Up Next
Pace is right back at it Sunday, April 16, when they are on the road at NE10 opponent Saint Michael's College. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
