Softball Sweeps by Elms
CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Mitchell College softball team came away with a doubleheader sweep at Elms College on Saturday afternoon at Cheryl R. Condon Field, winning by final scores of 5-2 and 16-6.
Elms pitcher Courtney Hampton struck out 10 batters in game one and Kellie McLaughlin drove in three runs in game two, but Mitchell came from behind in each game to rally for victories. Mitchell senior Marissa Thomas pitched all 14.0 innings and earned a pair of wins to improve to 5-6 on the season.
Elms dropped to 7-11 on the season and 4-2 in NECC action, while Mitchell improved to 7-11 overall and 4-2 in NECC action. The Mariners have now won four straight games.
Game 1 - Mitchell 5, Elms 2
In the opener, Elms took a two-run lead in the bottom of the third inning when Leah Spring and Jen Killion collected back-to-back singles to start the frame, giving Elms runners on first and third. Killion stole second and then advanced to third when Ali Bonavita reached on an error allowing Spring to score. Killion then came home on a double-play groundout to give the Blazers a 2-0 lead.
Mitchell plated a run in the top of the fifth on a homer by sophomore Chelsea Arpin, her first of the season. The Mariners then tied the game in the top of the sixth on an RBI base hit to center by senior Nikki Hoxie that plated junior Meghan Burke.
Senior Stacey Suplicki highlighted a three-run seventh inning for the Mariners with a two-run homer to center field. The dinger gave Mitchell a 5-2 lead that it would carry to the victory.
Ally Witaszek registered two hits for Elms, while Suplicki struck for three hits for the Mariners.
Thomas earned the win in the circle, while Hampton suffered the loss despite striking out 10 batters.
Game 2 - Mitchell 16, Elms 6
After the Mariners notched an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, Elms answered with a run in the bottom of the first on an RBI double by Hayley Zisk. The Blazers added another run in the second when Spring scored on a Mariners' miscue to even the game at 2-2.
McLaughlin then drove in a pair of runs with a three-bagger to right field in the bottom of the fourth frame to give Elms a 4-2 cushion.
Mitchell rallied with five in the top of the fifth highlighted by a two-run double to right field by junior Tiffany Person, an RBI single by freshman Lindsey Romagnino and a run-scoring fielder's choice off the bat of freshman Dylan Riccardi.
A two-run single by Suplicki and a two-run single by Riccardi plated four more runs for the Mariners in the top of the sixth, and Mitchell used five hits and three Blazers' errors in the top of the seventh to tally five more runs, giving the Mariners a 16-5 advantage.
Elms, which scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, added its final run in the bottom of the seventh when Spring singled in Alyson Santerre.
Thomas again earned the win in the circle for Mitchell, while Romagnino was 5-for-5 with two RBI at the dish. Riccardi drove in four runs and Suplicki added three RBI to highlight the win.
McLaughlin chipped in three RBI, while Spring and Sarah Buckley pounded out three hits each in the loss. Elizabeth Patient suffered the loss in the circle for Elms.
Mitchell will next host Saint Joseph College on Wednesday, April 11 at 3 p.m.