Softball Rallies Back for Sweep of Newbury
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Newbury | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 |
|
Mitchell | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 5 | 5 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Newbury | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 6 |
|
Mitchell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College softball team won both games of a doubleheader against Newbury College on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference action at Alumni Field.
The Mariners (9-13 overall, 6-2 NECC) began the day with a 5-2 victory in the first game before rallying back from a four-run deficit to win 6-5 in extra innings in the second. Junior Meghan Burke delivered a walk-off single in the eighth inning of the nightcap to score freshman Ashley Gladu with the winning run.
Mitchell will next play at Southern Vermont College on Sunday, April 15 at 2 p.m.
Game 1 – Mitchell 5, Newbury 2
Newbury outhit Mitchell by an 8-5 margin but paid the price for four errors. The Nighthawks committed two errors on one play in the first inning that accounted for the Mariners' first two runs of the contest. Freshman Lindsey Romagnino hit a fly ball that was dropped by an outfielder, and senior Brittany Zaccaria took the opportunity to score from second base. The throw home hit Zaccaria in the leg and bounded away, allowing Romagnino to round the bases and score as well.
The Mariners made it 3-0 with another run in the second inning. Freshman Dylan Riccardi doubled with one out, moved to second on a wild pitch and later scored on a passed ball.
Newbury finally broke through in the sixth inning and cut the deficit to one on a two-run homer by Julia Flamenco over the left field fence. However, Mitchell added two insurance runs in the bottom of the frame on RBI singles by Burke and sophomore Chelsea Arpin to make it 5-2.
The Nighthawks didn't go down without a fight in the seventh. Newbury loaded the bases with only one out behind singles by Kaitlin McLaughlin, Katie Haney and Jennifer Anderson. But senior pitcher Marissa Thomas escaped trouble by getting a strike out and line out to end the game.
Thomas improved to 6-7 overall with the win and allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out six and walking none. Rebecca Roach took the loss for the Nighthawks, allowing five runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out six and walking five.
Game 2 – Mitchell 6, Newbury 5 (8 innings)
Mitchell went ahead 1-0 in the first inning when junior Tiffany Person led off with a double and later scored on a fielding error. Newbury answered back promptly with two runs in the second inning to take its first lead of the day. Roach doubled to start the frame and scored on a triple by McLaughlin, who then also scored on the play thanks to a Mitchell throwing error.
The Nighthawks added a run in the fourth on a ground ball by Nicole Cuneo that scored McLaughlin from third base before tacking on two more runs in the fifth. Newbury executed a double steal to plate the first run in the frame and also got an RBI single from Haney to go up 5-1.
Mitchell put runners on base in every inning but could not cash in. The Mariners stranded a total of 10 runners over the first five innings and looked to be running out of chances.
Errors once again proved costly for the Nighthawks as they committed six in the game, including four in the sixth inning alone. The Mariners took advantage and scored four times to tie the game. Burke had an RBI single in the frame, but the other three runs scored due to Newbury miscues.
Neither side scored in the seventh inning, and with tiebreaker rule in effect in the eighth, Newbury attempted to sacrifice the go-ahead run over to third base. But a hard charge by Riccardi allowed her to cut down the lead runner at third, and sophomore Tricia Tomaselli recorded two more outs to escape the inning unscathed.
Mitchell pinch ran with Gladu in the home half of the eighth and moved her over to third base on a sacrifice bunt by senior Stacey Suplicki. The next Mitchell batter struck out before Burke laced a two-out single into right-center to bring home the winning run.
Tomaselli picked up the win in relief of Thomas and improved to 2-6 on the season. She didn't allow a run in 3.2 innings of work and gave up one hit while walking four. Roach got the starting nod once again and allowed six runs (one earned) on eight hits over 7.2 innings. She also struck out five and walked seven while dropping to 4-13 overall on the season.
