Softball Sweeps NEC on Senior Day

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College softball team closed out the regular season with a pair of New England Collegiate Conference victories on Sunday afternoon, defeating New England College by final scores of 12-8 and 11-3 on Senior Day.

Mitchell evened its record at 19-19 on the year and 6-6 in league play. The Mariners also secured the second seed for the upcoming NECC Championship on May 6-8.

In the opener, all nine starters finished with a hit as the Mariners piled up a season-high 16 hits. Brooke Whitmarsh went 4-for-4 with three RBI to lead the charge, and starting pitcher Katelyn Lipsky tossed a complete game to improve to 8-10 on the season.

An eight-run second inning keyed Mitchell's victory in the nightcap. Madison Nicynski went 3-for-3 with two RBI while Alex Lopez also drove in three runs. 

Prior to the games, Mitchell honored seniors Sydney Oatway, Nene Capeles, Nicynski and Lopez in a special ceremony. Each recorded multiple hits and drove in at least one run in the sweep, combining for a total of 12 hits and 11 RBI on the day.

Game 1 – Mitchell 12, NEC 8

Mitchell used some early offense to jump out a 7-0 lead after two innings. In the first, Nicynski got things rolling with an RBI single to center, and Oatway followed with a two-run double. Jenna Bennett plated a run with a sacrifice fly in the second, and Lopez added a two-run ground-rule double to help build the lead.

A two-run homer by Daelyn Ross got the Pilgrims on the scoreboard in the third. However, Mitchell matched the runs in the home half as both Bennett and Lopez plated runs.

The Mariners tacked on their final three runs in the fourth. Gemma Landry supplied a bases-loaded single to bring in the first run, and two batters later Whitmarsh singled up the middle to score two more. 

NEC trailed 12-2 heading into the fifth but never gave in. A sacrifice fly by Emily Nelson capped a three-run burst in the fifth, and the Pilgrims added three more in the seventh to cut into the deficit. Destiny Cardona and Taylor Maher each knocked in runs in the final frame, but the visitors ran out of outs before bringing the tying run to the plate.

Lipsky gave up eight runs (six earned) on eight hits and struck out six in the win. NEC starter Olivia Olson took the loss, allowing seven runs (five earned) on five hits over 2.0 innings.

Game 2 – Mitchell 11, NEC 3 (5 innings)

After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Mariners sent 14 batters to the plate in the second and produced eight runs on eight hits. Six different players knocked in a run in the frame, with Lopez supplying a two-run single and Emma LaBreck capping the rally with a two-run double to right-center.

Lopez and Nicynski each drove in runs in the third, and a sacrifice fly by Bennett made it an 11-3 game in the fourth. Emily Reynolds then secured the final three outs in the fifth as the game ended under the eight-run rule.

Reynolds (10-8 overall) gave up three runs (one earned) on seven hits and struck out two over 5.0 innings. Naomi Medrano dropped to 3-7 overall, allowing eight runs on nine hits in 1.2 innings of work.