BOX SCORE

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – In non-conference action, the University of Hartford softball team dropped a 6-0 decision to Big East foe Providence on Thursday afternoon at Raymond Field. The Hawks drop to 3-15 on the season while the Friars improve to 13-17.

Corinne Clauss hurled a two-hitter for Providence, allowing just six Hartford runners on the base paths while racking up 11 strikeouts en route to her second clean slate of the season. Junior Shannon Simpkins and sophomore Kate Wacyk were the only Hawks to collect hits on the afternoon.

Providence got on the board with a single run in the bottom of the first before tallying two scores in each the third and fourth frames to take a commanding 5-0 lead through four innings. The Friars rounded out the scoring with one more run across the scoreboard in the fifth inning to cushion their lead at 6-0.

The Hawks had their best chance at plating a run in the top of the fifth frame when Chelsey Mooney and Melani Maxwell each took bases on balls to lead off the inning. Clauss turned up the heat however, retiring the next two Hartford batters on strikeouts. The visitors loaded the bases for the first time in the contest as Simpkins reached on interference by the catcher but Clauss worked her way out of the jam, fanning her ninth batter of the contest for the final out.

In the circle, junior Siera Sheehan suffered the loss allowing six earned runs on 11 hits while accumulating four strikeouts.

Hartford resumes league play when it travels to Albany, N.Y. to face the Great Danes for a three-game weekend series. The Hawks and Great Danes are slated to play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 2 (1:00 p.m.) followed by a single game on Sunday (12:00 p.m.).