Softball Stays Hot with Sweep of Daniel Webster
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College softball team powered to a pair of victories against Daniel Webster College on Friday afternoon, winning by final scores of 11-2 in six innings and 8-0 in five innings at Alumni Field.
Mitchell (15-13 overall, 12-2 NECC) extended its winning streak to eight games and has won its last 12 conference contests. The Mariners entered the day with a slim lead over Daniel Webster (17-15 overall, 9-4 NECC) for second place in the conference standings but extended the margin to 2.5 games with the sweep.
Freshman Lindsey Romagnino went 5-for-7 with three doubles, a home run and five RBI in the doubleheader to lead the Mariners. Mitchell's five seniors—playing in the final regular season home games of their careers—combined for 11 hits and seven RBI on the day.
Mitchell will next play at Regis College on Saturday, April 21 at noon.
Game 1 – Mitchell 11, Daniel Webster 2 (6 innings)
Mitchell led 4-1 after the first inning and added a single run in the third before tacking on three runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Romagnino provided the final blow, a two-run walk-off homer in the sixth that ended the game via the eight-run rule.
Daniel Webster manufactured a run in the first to take its only lead of the day. Amy Waller reached base on an infield single and later stole second base. After Waller moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, Chelsey Crawford singled up the middle to bring her home with the game's first run.
Mitchell answered with four runs in the home half of the first. Senior Stacey Suplicki got the Mariners started with an RBI single up the middle, and classmate Nikki Hoxie followed with a two-run double to right-center to make it 3-0. Hoxie then scored on a single to center by freshman Dylan Riccardi for the final run of the frame.
The Eagles added a run in the third on an RBI triple to right field by Crawford that scored Sarah Durocher. But Mitchell matched the run in the bottom of the inning when a double by junior Meghan Burke scored Hoxie from first base.
Mitchell extended the lead to 8-2 in the fifth behind another RBI double from Burke and an RBI double by senior Shannen Pelletier. The Mariners then put up three more runs in the sixth, the first of which came when sophomore Tricia Tomaselli led off with a triple and then scored on a wild pitch. Romagnino later ended the game with the two-run blast, her second homer of the season.
Senior right-hander Marissa Thomas allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits over 6.0 innings to improve to 8-7 overall on the season. She also struck out two batters without issuing a walk.
Senior Brittany Zaccaria led the Mariners with three hits in the contest and recorded her second triple of the season.
Crawford went 3-for-3 with two RBI in the game to lead Daniel Webster. Durocher (8-7 overall) took the loss inside the circle, allowing 11 runs (eight earned) on 12 hits while striking out two.
Game 2 – Mitchell 8, Daniel Webster 0 (5 innings)
Mitchell's offense continued to provide plenty of run support in the nightcap. The Mariners pounded out 11 hits—including six that went for extra bases—en route to another eight-run rule victory.
Back-to-back doubles by Zaccaria and Romagnino brought in the game's first run in the first inning. The Mariners weren't done, however, as Hoxie later singled up the middle to score Romagnino from third for a 2-0 lead.
Junior Tiffany Person led off the third inning with a solo homer, the first of three runs Mitchell would plate in the frame. Hoxie drove in a run with a triple to right field and then scored on a single by Burke to put the Mariners up 5-0.
The Mariners tacked on their final three runs in the fourth. Romagnino drove in two runs with her third double of the game before scoring the final run on an RBI single by Suplicki.
Tomaselli gave up only three hits over 5.0 innings to earn her second shutout of the season. She also struck out three batters without issuing a walk and improved to 6-6 overall on the season.
Wilson took the loss for the Eagles, dropping to 9-8 overall. She allowed eight runs on 11 hits and struck out one.
Senior Day Notes
In between games, the Mariners honored Pelletier, Zaccaria, Suplicki, Hoxie and Thomas in a special senior day ceremony ... all four seniors who batted finished with a hit in each game ... Pelletier had two hits, including a double in the second game ... Zaccaria had four hits and scored three runs ... Suplicki, who supplied two hits and two RBI, has the most hits of any current Mitchell player with 122 in her career ... Hoxie finished with three hits and three RBI and had a double in the first game and a triple in the second ... Thomas picked up her 36th career victory ... the group has helped the Mariners to 68 wins over the past four seasons and three straight NECC Championship berths.