Hot Bats Continue for Softball vs. Bay Path

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College softball team swept a New England Collegiate Conference doubleheader from Bay Path College on Sunday afternoon by final scores of 9-0 and 10-2 at Alumni Field.

Sophomore Shannon O'Neil 5-for-7 with a home run, two doubles and five RBI on the day to pace the Mitchell offense. Junior Lindsey Romagnino went 4-for-7 with a pair of doubles and two RBI while sophomores Emily Morenzoni and Jenny Groman each finished with three hits and drove in two runs.

Mitchell pitchers Brittany Fiederlein and Tricia Tomaselli each picked up wins in the circle. Fiederlein notched her first career shutout in the opener and also earned her first save in the finale.

Bay Path finished with seven hits—all singles—in the doubleheader. Anna Meyer the day with a pair of hits to lead the Wildcats.

Mitchell (9-12 overall, 5-1 NECC) will next host Newbury College on Saturday, April 12 at noon. Bay Path returns to action at Wheelock College on Wednesday, April 9 at 3 p.m.

Game 1 – Mitchell 9, Bay Path 0 (5 innings)

Mitchell struck for two runs in the first inning to stake Fiederlein to an early lead. Romagnino plated the first run with a double to left field and later scored on a single to center by Morenzoni.

The Mariners sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth and scored seven runs to blow the game open. Groman and Romagnino each had RBI singles in the frame while O'Neil delivered the big blow, a bases-loaded double down the left field line that scored three runs. Mitchell tacked on the final run of the inning on a Bay Path fielding error to take a 9-0 lead into the fifth.

Fiederlein (6-5 overall) gave up only two hits in the contest and didn't allow a runner past second base. She faced a total of 18 batters over 5.0 innings and struck out four and walked two. Keelin Dougherty took the loss for the Wildcats, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits over 4.0 innings.

Game 2 – Mitchell 10, Bay Path 2 (6 innings)

Mitchell capitalized on two Bay Path errors in the first inning to grab a 2-0 lead. A double by Romagnino highlighted the frame, though both runs scored thanks to an infield miscue following a hard ground ball by Fiederlein.

Bay Path got a run back in the second to cut the Mitchell lead in half. Emily Serrano walked to start the inning and later scored from third base when Tomaselli was called for an illegal pitch.

Both teams picked up a run in the fourth. Mitchell pulled ahead 3-1 on a RBI single up the middle by Groman, and Marina Rhodes plated a run with a single into left to bring Bay Path to within 3-2. The Wildcats could have had more in the frame if not for a sliding catch in right field by sophomore Rivkah Berkman to end the inning.

O'Neil led off the fifth inning with an opposite-field home run over the left field fence, the first long ball of her collegiate career. Sophomore Alexandra Blanchette later added a RBI single to right field that put the Mariners up 5-2.

Fiederlein replaced Tomaselli to start the sixth, and the Wildcats put two runners on to bring the tying run to the plate with no outs. However, Fiederlein got three groundouts to get out of the inning unscathed and with the three-run lead intact.  

Mitchell scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to bring the game to an early end. All six Mariners who batted in the frame came away with a hit, and the game ended by virtue of the eight-run mercy rule after a two-run single by junior Dylan Riccardi made it 10-2. Morenzoni and Fiederlein also had RBI singles in the rally while O'Neil had a RBI double, finishing just a triple shy of the cycle.

Tomaselli (3-7 overall) yielded two runs on four hits over 5.0 innings and struck out six while walking two. Dougherty (1-8 overall) also pitched the second game for the Wildcats and gave up seven earned runs on 14 hits in 5.0 innings of work.