Softball Blanks Wheelock in Double Dip

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College softball team ended the regular season on a high note on Sunday afternoon, shutting out Wheelock College in a pair of five-inning New England Collegiate Conference contests by final scores of 10-0 and 11-0 at Alumni Field.

Dylan Riccardi went 5-for-5 with three RBI to lead the Mitchell offense, one of five Mariners who finished with at least three runs driven in on the day. Samantha Ryan had three hits—including a home run and a triple—and knocked in four runs. Mitchell pitchers Tricia Tomaselli and Brittany Fiederlein each tossed complete game shutouts and yielded only five hits between them.

Mitchell (16-17 overall, 12-6 NECC) will finish no worse than third place in the NECC standings and has earned a home game for the first round of the NECC Championship. Dates and opponents will be announced by the conference following the completion of regular season play.

Wheelock's season ends with an overall record of 0-24 (0-18 NECC).

Game 1 – Mitchell 10, Wheelock 0 (5 innings)

Mitchell scored four runs in the bottom of the first thanks to RBI singles by Lindsey Romagnino, Shannon O'Neil and Riccardi. The Mariners then added three runs in the second behind RBI doubles from Jenny Groman and Romagnino.

An RBI single up the middle by Marisa Downs led to another Mitchell run in the third, and Ryan drove in a pair of runs in the fourth with a triple to right field.

Tomaselli (5-10 overall) struck out a season-high seven batters and allowed only three hits over 5.0 innings. The shutout was the fifth of her career and her second of the season.

Vanessa Valenti, Katie Fleming and Becca House all finished with hits for the Wildcats. Starting pitcher Maggie Doyle gave up seven earned runs on 12 hits and struck out one.

Game 2 – Mitchell 11, Wheelock 0 (5 innings)

The Mariners went ahead 1-0 in the first inning when Rivkah Berkman scored thanks to a Wheelock error. Mitchell then loaded the bases with no outs in the second on consecutive infield singles by Chelsea Arpin, Riccardi and Ryan, and Alexandra Blanchette drew a walk to push across a run. After Berkman lined into a double play, Groman slapped a double to center that brought in two more runs and increased the lead to 4-0.

Riccardi drove in another run in the third with a double, but the Mariners broke the game open with a six-run fourth inning to make it 11-0. Ryan provided a two-run homer in the rally—her third of the season—while O'Neil and Riccardi each tacked on RBI singles.

Fiederlein (11-7 overall) gave up only two hits over 5.0 innings and struck out three while walking two. The shutout was her team-leading third of the season.

Valenti took the loss for the Wildcats, allowing three earned runs on five hits over 2.0 innings of work. She also had one of two hits in the game for Wheelock, with Kiersten Cosgrove accounting for the other.