Softball Falls Short on Second Day of Florida Trip

CLERMONT, Fla. – The Mitchell College softball team suffered a pair of losses on Sunday during their annual spring break trip, dropping a non-conference game to Ohio Northern University 10-2 in the morning, before falling 8-1 in another non-conference contest against Utica University at Legends Way Ballfields.

The Mariners (0-4, 0-0 GNAC) are scheduled for an off day on Monday, and will then return to the diamond for a pair of games on Tuesday, March 12th, facing the University of Pittsburgh Greensburg and SUNY Cortland.

Game 1 – Ohio Northern 10, Mitchell 2

The Mariners handed the ball to Olivia DeCicco (Haverhill, Mass.) to begin the second day of their spring break trip, and the early returns were strong for the sophomore right handed pitcher. DeCicco kept the Polar Bears bats in check across the first three innings, allowing just two hits with no walks. Ohio Northern eventually broke the game open in the top of the fourth, plating seven runs and chasing DeCicco from the game.

Junior Emily Reynolds (Somers, Conn.) came on in relief but the deficit was too much for the Mariners to make up. Ohio Northern scored one more run in the fifth to make it an 8-0 ballgame, before Mitchell got on the board in the bottom half of the inning when sophomore Kaylee Drago dashed home on a fielder's choice. Two more runs came around to score for the Polar Bears in the top of the seventh, and the Mariners pushed one more across in the bottom of the inning when senior Hailey Hill (Griswold, Conn.) was able to score on a stolen base attempt.

DeCicco suffered her first loss of the season for the Mariners, allowing five earned runs in three and one third innings of work. Reyolds also surrendered five runs in her second appearance of the season. Ashley Lenser collected the win in the first game of the spring for Ohio Northern, turning in six innings of three-hit ball.

Freshman Haley Westfal (La Habra, Cali.) paced the Mariners with two hits in the loss.

Game 2 – Utica 8, Mitchell 1

Facing Mitchell senior Hailey Hill, Utica's Emily Joss opened the game with a triple then came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Lauren Paul to give the Pioneers an early 1-0 lead. The Mariners immedatly tied the contest in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single to shortstop off the bat of senior Sarah Aviles (Griswold, Conn.).

The Mariners were unable to generate any more runs off Utica starting pitcher Kylie Murray, who worked seven dominant innings for the complete game, allowing just three hits while issuing no walks and striking out five. Mitchell was held to just three hits, coming from Hannah Lemke (East Haddam, Conn.), Brooke Whitmarsh (Portsmouth, R.I.), and Aviles.

The Pioneers snapped the 1-1 tie in the bottom of the third, jumping ahead on an RBI single up the middle by Taylor Kraft. Lauren Paul's three run home run the following inning made it a 5-1 game, and Utica tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth, two of them coming on an Amanda Chavarria single to right field.

Hill took the loss for Mitchell, allowing eight runs, five of them earned, and 11 hits across five innings.