Softball Elminated at Becker

LEICESTER, Mass. – The Mitchell College softball team was eliminated from the 2013 New England Collegiate Conference Championship after suffering a 5-3 loss to Becker College in first round play on Tuesday afternoon at Russell Field.

Jessica Brochu hit a two-run homer and pitcher Kelsey Norberg struck out nine as the second-seeded Hawks advanced to double-elimination play. The seventh-seeded Mariners ended the season with an 11-24 overall record. 

Norberg was excellent through the first six innings while earning the win, allowing only two hits and a walk up until the seventh. Brochu put the Hawks up 2-0 in the bottom of the second when she took a pitch deep to left-center, and Becker never trailed.

The home team kept the pressure on in the bottom of the fourth, as Jessica Wheelahan had an RBI single and later scored from third on a passed ball. In the bottom of the sixth, Megan Cordon drove in Talan Barron on a single up the middle to give Becker a 5-0 lead. Barron and Victoria Horning each finished with two hits and a run. 

For the Mariners, junior pitcher Tricia Tomaselli tallied five strikeouts in six innings in the loss. Senior Tiffany Person nearly rallied her team back in the top of the seventh when she smashed a three-run blast to straight-away center with two outs, cutting the Becker lead to 5-3. Freshman Jenny Groman also went two-for-three with a run scored.