Softball Sweeps Southern Vermont in NECC Opener
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College softball team opened
up NECC play with a doubleheader sweep of Southern Vermont College
on Saturday afternoon by final scores of 4-2 and 11-2.
Mitchell (5-5 overall, 2-0 NECC) improved to 4-0 at home on the
season. Sophomores Kristina Torres and Marissa
Thomas each picked up wins inside the circle for the Mariners.
Torres (2-3 overall) pitched the first game and gave up two runs
(one earned) on two hits while striking out a season-high 13
batters in seven innings. Thomas (3-2 overall) gave up two
runs—both unearned—and scattered seven hits over six
innings while punching out five.
In the first game, the Mariners jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the
first inning thanks to three fielding errors by the Mountaineers.
Mitchell then added runs in the second on groundouts by junior Jen
Bordonaro and freshman Meghan
Burke to take a four-run lead.
Southern Vermont battled back with two runs in the fourth to cut
the deficit in half. Alyssa Davis drove in the first run with a
double and came around to score on a Mitchell throwing error.
Despite the rough patch in the fourth, Torres settled down and
retired the final 10 batters she faced to lead the Mariners to
victory. The two hits were the fewest she had allowed in five
appearances this season.
Gabrielle Remillard took the loss in game one, giving up four runs
(two earned) on five hits in six innings. She dropped to 0-5
overall on the season.
Mitchell’s bats came alive in the second game for 11 hits,
led by a 3-for-4 effort by senior Sara
Krolikowski. Classmate Michele Anderson also had a big day at the plate, going
2-for-3 with a triple and a career-high five RBI.
The Mountaineers took a 1-0 lead in the third inning after Kayla
Whitman led off with a single, stole second and then scored on a
fielding error. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Mariners
plated four runs in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore Stacey
Suplicki supplied an RBI double while Krolikowski added an RBI
single, and Anderson later followed with a single to drive in a
pair as Mitchell took a 4-1 lead.
The Mariners added four more runs in the fourth to go up 8-1.
Krolikowski got things started with an RBI single, but Anderson
provided the big blow with a bases-loaded triple to break the game
open.
The teams traded a run in the fifth before Mitchell scored twice in
the sixth to end the game due to the eight-run mercy rule. Burke
supplied the game-ending double that scored Bordonaro and sophomore
Brittany Zaccaria.
Southern Vermont starter Talan Barron allowed 11 runs (seven
earned) on 11 hits in 5.2 innings of work. She also struck out
three while walking six and dropped to 0-2 overall on the
season.
Mitchell will next host Johnson & Wales University on Monday,
April 5 at 3:30 p.m.
