Softball Swept in NECC Opener

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Mitchell College opened the New England Collegiate Conference season with a pair of losses on Saturday afternoon, falling by final scores of 9-1 and 13-0 to New England College at Alumni Field.

Daelyn Ross went 4-for-5 with a double, homer, six RBI and three runs scored in the doubleheader to pace the NEC offense. The Pilgrims also got a pair of quality starts from pitchers Taylor Barbour and Emily Farone, who didn't allow an earned run in a combined 10.0 innings of work.

Mitchell (7-5 overall, 0-2 NECC) will next play at Rhode Island College on Wednesday, April 3 at 4 p.m. New England College (12-4 overall, 2-0 NECC) returns to action at Lasell College on Tuesday, April 2 at 3 p.m.

Game 1 – NEC 9, Mitchell 1 (5 innings)

The Pilgrims grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a two-out, two-run single by Jasmin Alvarado. The visitors later broke the game open in the fourth inning, sending 10 batters to the plate in a six-run rally that extended the lead to 8-0.

Barbour cruised through the first three innings and had retired nine straight batters before Mitchell's Suzanne Vachon singled to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Vachon later scored on a single to right by Sydney Oatway to give the Mariners their only run of the series.

Barbour, who improved to 8-2, allowed only three hits and struck out eight without issuing a walk. Mitchell starter Taylor Duchesneau surrendered only one earned run but yielded seven hits in the loss.

Game 2 – NEC 13, Mitchell 0 (5 innings)

NEC scored runs in every inning en route to the series sweep. An RBI single by Ross in the first gave the Pilgrims the only run they would need. Alvarado then added a two-run double in the second to extend the lead to 3-0.

The Pilgrims led 4-0 after three innings but doubled the margin on a grand slam by Ross in the fourth. The long ball was her team-leading third of the season. The visitors later tacked on four more runs in the fifth inning for the final margin of victory.

Farone (3-1) limited the Mariners to just two hits to record her first shutout of the season. Vachon took the loss for Mitchell, giving up six earned runs on nine hits while walking two.