Softball Comes Up Short at ENC

QUINCY, Mass. – The Mitchell College softball team dropped a pair of New England Collegiate Conference games to Eastern Nazarene College on Saturday, losing by final scores of 4-2 and 6-3 at McCoy Field.

Mitchell fell behind 4-1 in the opener and couldn't recover. Gemma Landry and Hannah Lemke each contributed a pair of hits from the top of the lineup while starting pitcher Katelyn Lipsky kept the Mariners within striking distance.

In the second game, the Lions scored five runs in the first inning and led 6-0 heading into the seventh. Down to their final three outs, the Mariners rallied to cut the deficit in half and put the tying runs on base before ENC starter Jennelle Munoz ended the game with a strikeout.

Munoz pitched both games for ENC and tossed a combined 14.0 innings on the day. She improved to 9-9 on the season.

Mitchell (12-14 overall, 2-2 NECC) will next play at Wesleyan University on Wednesday, April 20 at 3:00 p.m.

Game 1 – ENC 4, Mitchell 2

Mitchell grabbed a 1-0 lead out of the gates as Landry led off the game with a single to left-center field and later scored when Jenna Bennett was caught stealing at second. The lead didn't last long as the Lions put up two runs in the home half, highlighted by an RBI double by Aurora Adams.

ENC added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to go up 4-1. In the seventh, the Mariners got a run back on an RBI single to center by Lemke. That left the tying runs on base with only one out, but Munoz buckled down to get a strikeout and ground out to end the game.

Lipsky surrendered four runs (three earned) on five hits and struck out six while walking five. Her record fell to 5-7 on the year.

Game 2 – ENC 6, Mitchell 3

ENC came out swinging in the nightcap, plating five runs off Mitchell starter Emily Reynolds and chasing her from the game in the first inning. The Lions clubbed six of their 12 hits in the frame and left the visitors in a 5-0 hole.

Hailey Hill gave the Mariners a chance, allowing only one run over her 4.1-inning stint of relief. Mitchell trailed 6-0 heading into the final frame, and a one-out single by Madison Nicynski provided a spark. After a walk to Sarah Aviles and a single by Lemke loaded the bases, Landry delivered a two-run single to right field. Two batters later, Brooke Whitmarsh plated a run with an infield single to make it 6-3. Munoz gave up another single—but not another run—before securing the final out.

Reynolds yielded five runs on six hits in the loss, dropping to 7-6 on the season.