Thomas' No-Hitter Highlights Softball Sweep
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College softball team picked up its first wins of the season on Saturday afternoon against Albertus Magnus College, sweeping a doubleheader by scores of 9-1 and 8-0.
Junior Marissa Thomas pitched both games and threw her first collegiate no-hitter in the nightcap. She allowed only one unearned run on two hits in a combined 10.0 innings of work on the day.
Freshman Tricia Tomaselli went 5-for-5 at the plate over the two games to lead the Mitchell offense. Senior Jen Bordonaro finished with a pair of hits that included her first home run—a grand slam—of the season.
Game 1 – Mitchell 9, Albertus Magnus 1 (5 innings)
Albertus Magnus took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly to center by Melissa Manning that scored Danielle Figueroa. Mitchell answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame. The Mariners tied the game on a bases-loaded walk by Chelsea Arpin and went ahead for good when junior Brittany Zaccaria drove in a run on a fielder's choice. Tomaselli capped the rally with an RBI single to put the Mariners up 3-1.
Bordonaro provided the biggest blow in the third, clearing the bases with a line-drive shot over the left-center fence for her seventh career homer. The Mariners tacked on the final run in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by junior Stacey Suplicki to invoke the eight-run mercy rule.
Thomas struck out seven and walked one in 5.0 innings. Figueroa got the start for Albertus Magnus and allowed nine runs on eight hits over 4.2 innings. She struck out one and issued six walks.
Game 2 – Mitchell 8, Albertus Magnus 0 (5 innings)
Thomas continued her dominance in the second game and retired 15 of 16 batters she faced. She struck out five without issuing a walk, and the lone batter to reach base came in the second inning on her own fielding error.
The Mariners provided plenty of offensive support, scoring three runs in the first inning and two more in the second. Suplicki had an RBI single in the first and a sacrifice fly in the second to finish with a pair of RBI in the game.
Mitchell added three more runs in the fourth to go up 8-0 and then blanked the Falcons in the fifth to close out the win. Sam Corso took the loss for Albertus Magnus in the circle, allowing eight runs on five hits in 4.0 innings. She also struck out two and walked eight.
Mitchell (2-8 overall) will next host a doubleheader against Lyndon State College on Saturday, March 26 at 2 p.m.