Late Heroics Fuel Softball's Sweep of Lesley

REVERE, Mass. – The Mitchell College softball team opened New England Collegiate Conference play with a sweep of Lesley University on Friday, winning by final scores of 5-4 and 9-6 at Griswold Park.

The Mariners, who improved to 12-12 overall (2-0 NECC), picked up their first sweep against the Lynx since 2015. Starting pitchers Katelyn Lipsky and Emily Reynolds both tossed complete games in the victories.

In the opener, Mitchell was down to its final out before a two-run single by Sydney Oatway put the visitors on top for good. Lipsky pitched a perfect seventh to seal the win and finished with a career-high 12 strikeouts.

The drama carried over into the second game, as Lesley scored four runs in the seventh to send the game to extra innings. In the eighth, Sarah Aviles drove in the go-ahead run with a single to center, sparking a three-run Mitchell rally. Reynolds set the Lynx down in order in the home half to improve to 7-5 on the year.

Mitchell will next play at Eastern Nazarene College on Saturday, April 16 at 1:00 p.m.

Game 1 – Mitchell 5, Lesley 4

Mitchell got on the scoreboard in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Brooke Whitmarsh that scored Gemma Landry. After Lesley swiped the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth, the Mariners fired back with a two-out rally in the fifth to pull back in front. Back-to-back doubles by Whitmarsh and Reynolds tied the game, and the latter scored the go-ahead run on a single to center by Madison Nicynski.

In the sixth, the Lynx tied the game on a wild pitch and took a 4-3 lead on a Mitchell error. The Mariners put two on base with no outs in the seventh, but Lesley pitcher Jordan Day retired the next two batters to bring up Oatway. With runners at second and third, Oatway drove the first pitch she saw into right-center field to put Mitchell back on top.

Lipsky fanned two batters and got a ground ball to lock down the victory in the bottom of the frame. She improved to 5-6 on the season, allowing four runs (three earned) on only four hits. All 12 of her strikeouts came in the final six innings.   

Game 2 – Mitchell 9, Lesley 6 (8 innings)

In the nightcap, Mitchell fell behind 2-0 in the first inning but accounted for the next six runs. After an RBI single by Whitmarsh cut the deficit in half in the third, the Mariners exploded for four runs in the fourth to take over the lead. All four runs came with two outs on the board, as Landry and Jenna Bennett each supplied two-run doubles to make it a 5-2 game. Later in the game, a ground out by Landry extended the lead to four in the sixth.

Reynolds retired the first two Lesley batters in the seventh before the hosts fought their way back into the game. A pair of singles and an error loaded the bases for Day, who delivered a two-run double to keep the Lynx alive. Another Mitchell error led to the final two runs and sent the game into extras.

Aviles stepped to the plate with two on and no outs in the eighth and dumped a single into center field to give Mitchell the lead once again. Bennett and Nicynski later tacked on RBI singles to extend the margin, and Reynolds picked up three quick outs in the home half to secure the win.

Reynolds scattered nine hits over 8.0 innings and yielded six runs (two earned) while striking out five.

Mitchell finished with 12 hits in the game, led by three from Whitmarsh and two each from Landry, Bennett and Aviles. Landry and Bennett also knocked in three runs apiece.