Softball Comes From Behind, Advances Past SVC
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Southern Vt. | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
|
Mitchell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Third-seeded Mitchell College walked off with a 3-2 win over sixth-seeded Southern Vermont College in the first round of the New England Collegiate Conference Softball Championship on Thursday afternoon at the Kingsford Oxford School.
The Mariners trailed 2-0 for most of the contest but scored single runs in each of the final three innings to advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament. Sophomore Alexandra Blanchette doubled in the bottom of the seventh and later scored from third base on a wild pitch with the winning run.
Sophomore Shannon O'Neil went 3-for-3 with a double to lead the Mariners at the plate. Southern Vermont junior Emily Fleming and freshman Lauryn Zovistoski each finished with two hits and both saw action inside the circle.
The Mountaineers threatened in the first by putting runners on first and third with only one out. Mitchell starter Brittany Fiederlein worked her way out of trouble with a strike out and a nifty play by shortstop Lindsey Romagnino to escape damage. Freshman Mallory Celeste hit a shallow pop up that dropped behind the third base bag, but Romagnino scooped up the ball and fired home to cut off the run at the plate.
Southern Vermont scored both runs in the second inning to go up 2-0. Senior Kirstin Buchan kept the inning alive with a two-out single to center field, and Fleming followed with a shot over the left fielder that went for an inside the park home run.
The Mariners put a runner in scoring position with only one out in both the second and third innings but came up empty both times. Mitchell then had two on with two outs in the fourth before Fleming pitched her way out of the jam once again.
Freshman Samantha Ryan led off the Mitchell fifth with a single to center and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Blanchette. A bunt single by sophomore Rivkah Berkman gave the Mariners runners at the corners with one out, and sophomore Jenny Groman plated the first run with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Mountaineers turned the ball over to Zovistoski in the sixth, and the first batter she faced was O'Neil, who hit a ground-rule double down the left field line before leaving the game in favor of a pinch runner. Senior Tricia Tomaselli took her place at second, and she moved to third on a ground out before scoring on a wild pitch.
Fiederlein (12-7 overall) shut down Southern Vermont in the seventh to keep the game tied at 2-2. She retired the final 14 batters she faced and struck out seven while allowing six hits.
Blanchette got things going in the home half of the seventh with a ground-rule double to the right-center gap with one out. Berkman moved her to third with a sacrifice bunt, and Groman was down to her final strike before the wild pitch allowed the winning run to score.
Fleming pitched 5.0 innings and gave up one run on four hits while striking out two and walking two. Zovistoski (1-6 overall) tossed 1.2 innings of relief and yielded two runs on two hits.
Southern Vermont ends the season with an overall record of 11-20.
Mitchell (17-17 overall) will next face seventh-seeded Regis College on Friday, May 2 at noon. The remainder of the tournament will be hosted by top-seeded Lesley University at Regis. Lesley and fourth-seeded Newbury College will play the day's first game at 10 a.m.
