Softball Advances to Second Day of NECC Championship
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Regis (Mass.) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
|
Mitchell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 3 |
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mitchell | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
|
Newbury | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 0 |
WESTON, Mass. – The Mitchell College softball team bounced back from a 6-2 loss to Regis College to pull out a 5-3, extra-inning win over Newbury College on the first day of play at the 2014 New England Collegiate Conference Softball Championship on Friday afternoon.
Top-seeded Lesley University advanced to the title round of the double-elimination tournament with wins over Newbury and Regis. The Mariners and Pride will meet once again on Saturday, May 2 at noon to decide which team moves on to face the Lynx. The title round will begin at 2 p.m.
Game Four: #4 Newbury 1, #1 Lesley 9 (5 Innings)
Lesley freshman Mekenzi Golden finished 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI while senior Sarah Apgar finished a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored to power the Lesley attack to a 9-1 win in a mercy-rule-shortened five-inning affair.
Senior Allison Fountain chipped in by going 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBI and a run scored to support freshman hurler Allyson Nisbet, who scattered six hits and one run while striking out six in 5.0 innings of work.
Sophomore catcher Alyssa Donovan finished with a perfect 3-for-3 effort at the dish from the lead-off spot for the Nighthawks and scored her team's only run of the game. Olivia Kenyon, Lindsey Clark and Katie Haney also picked up hits in the loss.
The Lesley offense did not waste any time putting runs on the board as Golden blasted a two-run home run, her sixth of the year, in the bottom of the first inning. The Lynx added four more in the bottom of the second to extend their lead to 6-0. Fountain had the big hit of the inning as she laced a two-run triple to right field, scoring Apgar and Maria Nazzaro who both reached on singles.
With Lesley leading 8-0 heading into the fifth inning, the Newbury bats made some noise as Donovan reached with a single and advanced to second on a ground out one batter later. Donovan then raced home on a Kenyon double to left field to cut the Lesley lead to 8-1. Nisbet limited the damage to just the one run as she forced a fly out to end the inning.
The Lynx ended the game via mercy-rule in the bottom of the inning as freshman Carlyn Barker drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Game Five: #7 Regis 6, #3 Mitchell 2
Regis sophomores Alyssa McKinnon and Katie Cuozzo and junior Sam Bliss all finished with two hits as the seventh-seeded Pride upset third-seeded Mitchell 6-2. Cuozzo added a pair of doubles, a run scored and three RBI to her line while allowing just two earned runs and striking out five in a complete-game effort in the circle.
Lindsey Romagnino, Shannon O'Neil, Emily Morenzoni and Dylan Riccardi each had two hits for the Mariners. Morenzoni and O'Neil each drove in runs in the loss.
The Mariners, who out-hit the Pride 11-7, could not get timely hitting as they left 12 runners on base in the game. Mitchell stranded two runners in the first and left the bases loaded in the second.
In the top of the third inning, the Pride took advantage of a Mitchell miscue to spark some two-out magic. With a runner on first, McKinnon drove a ball that was mishandled in right field, allowing a run to score before Cuozzo made the Mariners pay with an RBI double to give Regis a 2-0 edge. After Cuozzo advanced to third on a pass ball, Bliss sent an RBI single through the right side to score the Pride's third run of the frame.
Regis added three more in the top of the seventh as McKinnon singled home a run and Cuozzo helped her own cause with another double down the left field line, scoring both Angelica Arredondo and Kirbie Garvey.
The Mariners didn't go quietly, however, as they rallied in the bottom half of the inning. Sophomore Jenny Groman singled to lead off the inning before advancing to third on a Romagnino double. O'Neil pushed Groman across the plate with a ground out to second before Morenzoni hit a two-out, RBI single to right to cut the lead to 6-2. However, Cuozzo forced a pop-up to end the game.
Game Six: #3 Mitchell 5, #4 Newbury 3 (8 innings)
Mitchell and Newbury battled into extra innings as each club tried to avoid elimination following losses earlier in the day. The Mariners knocked off the Nighthawks for the first time this season after losing both meetings during the regular season.
Newbury cracked the scoreboard first with a two-out rally in the bottom of the first. Olivia Kenyon ignited the offense with a two-out single to left before moving to second when Lindsey Clark reached on an error in the Mitchell infield. Katie Haney followed with a single to center to plate Kenyon as the Nighthawks went up early, 1-0.
The Mariners evened things up in the top of the third as Samantha Ryan singled to start off the inning before swiping second to get into scoring position. Following a walk, Ryan stole third and then scored on a single by sophomore Rivkah Berkman. After a line out to the pitcher and a fly out to shallow center, the second walk of the inning loaded the bases for the Mariners, but Kenyon escaped the jam by recording a strikeout to end the inning.
The Mariners regained a one-run advantage when Romagnino sent a two-out single to left to score Berkman in the top of the fifth.
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Nighthawks catcher Alyssa Donovan immediately got herself into scoring position as she led off the inning with a double. Donovan moved to third following a bunt single by sophomore Sheri Liggiero, and Newbury had runners on the corners with no outs.
During the next at bat Liggiero tried to get herself into a pickle to allow Donovan to score, but the Mitchell defense held strong as they cut down the run at the plate to hold a 2-1 edge. The lead would not last long as Kenyon then smacked a single to center that brought Liggiero in as the tying run, and the teams headed into extra innings.
Mitchell wasted little time scoring a run in the top of the eighth. After Groman was placed on second due to the international tie-breaker rule, Romagnino led off the inning with her second RBI hit of the game, sending a single into left-center. After a strikeout, Brittany Fiederlein gave the Mariners a much-needed cushion as she drove a ball over the right-center fence for a two-run home run, padding the lead to 5-2.
Newbury picked up a run in the bottom of the eighth, but Fiederlein retired the final two batters of the game with infield pop-ups to keep the Mitchell's hopes alive.
Ryan finished a perfect 3-for-3 for the Mariners while Romagnino went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a pair of RBI. Fiederlein struck out four while being charged with just a single run in the complete-game win.
Leading the way for the Nighthawks was Liggiero, Kenyon and freshman Naomi Ricciotti who each finished 2-for-4 with a run scored. Kenyon limited the Mariners to eight hits in 8.0 innings while striking out six in the loss.
Game Seven: Lesley 8, Regis 1
In the final game of the day, Lesley outhit Regis 15-2 as the Lynx moved on with a perfect 2-0 record on the day.
After the teams exchanged runs in the second, the Lynx jumped ahead in the third when junior Jodee Doka laced a double into the right-center gap that allowed Carlyn Barker and Allison Fountain to both score.
Lesley added two more in the top of the fifth inning on a two-run double by senior Nicole Mercurio before receiving a pair of RBI singles from Sarah Apgar and Fountain in the top of the sixth as the Lynx grabbed a commanding 7-1 lead.
Lesley added one more in the top of the seventh inning when sophomore Angela Mukai came around on a single by freshman Allyson Nisbet.
Sophomore starter Jordan Thomas was excellent for the Lynx, allowing just two hits in the complete-game win. The lefty struck out two, walked one and was charged with one run while facing just three batters over the minimum 21 for the game.
Barker and Mukai both registered a game-high three hits while Fountain, Mercurio and Mekenzi Golden each finished with two hits in the win.
For the Pride, Katie Cuozzo and Sam Bliss each finished 1-for-3 while Cuozzo scored the only run for Regis.
