
Softball Runs Off with Two Wins in Senior Day Sweep
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College softball team got back in the win column on Wednesday afternoon, taking both games of a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) South Division doubleheader against Regis College at Alumni Field.
The offense erupted for 10 hits and nine runs in the opener, a 9-1 win which was shortened to five innings due to the run rule, before the Mariners downed the Pride, 6-2, in the nightcap.
Before the first game, the Mariners honored their seven senior student-athletes; Gemma Landry (Lewiston, ME), Brooke Whitmarsh (Portsmouth, R.I.), Emily Reynolds (Somers, Conn.), Emma LaBreck (Rollinsford, N.H.), Brooke Taylor (Montville, Conn.), Christina Housley (Norfolk, VA), and Katelynn Goodman (Virginia Beach, VA).
The Mariners (12-17-1, 7-9 GNAC) will pause until Monday, April 21, when they visit intrastate foe Trinity College for a single seven-inning game, scheduled to begin at 4:00 pm. The Pride (8-18, 2-10 GNAC) will have an opportunity to bounce back on Thursday, April 17, with a pair of games on the road at Dean College.
Game 1 – Mitchell 9, Regis 1 (5 Innings)
The Mariners struck early and often in the opening game, plating three runs in the first, four in the second, and two more in the third.
Christina Housley drove in the first three in the bottom of the first on a bases clearing double to right center. In the second, junior Olivia DeCicco (Haverhill, Mass.) ripped a two-run double to left center with two outs, and Brooke Whitmarsh followed that up with an RBI double to centerfield. Housley, the next batter, then laced a run-scoring single down the right field line to score Whitmarsh and give the Mariners a 7-0 advantage.
The final two Mitchell runs came in the third, as Brooke Taylor hit a run scoring groundout, before the ninth run came across on a fielding error by a member of the Pride.
Housley finished 2-3 with a double and four RBI. Whitmarsh also had two hits, one RBI, and two runs scored, while DeCicco was 2-3 with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored. Junior Cassandra Roman (New London, Conn.) also collected a pair of hits and scored twice in the win.
Emily Reynolds was the winning pitcher, working five innings of one run (zero earned) ball in the circle, scattering five hits and striking out one.
Sydney Grund had one hit and drove in one run for Regis, while Gabriella Blanchard surrendered nine runs (eight earned) over four innings.
Game 2 – Mitchell 6, Regis 2
The Mariner bats once again got to work early in the second game of the twin bill, as Cassandra Roman and Emma LaBreck each hit run scoring doubles in the bottom of the first to build a 3-0 lead.
Three more runs then came around to score in the second, two on a double to right center off the bat of Olivia DeCicco, and the other when Housley hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield. The Pride pushed across one run in the third and another in the sixth, but the Mariners were able to hang on for the two-game sweep.
Senior Katelynn Goodman (Virginia Beach, VA) improved to 4-2 on the year, surrendering just one earned run in six innings. Brookie Whitmtash had a team-high two hits, including a double, while Olivia DeCicco doubled and drove in two runs.
Bianca Burke was 2-4 with one RBI for Regis, while Kate Julian took the loss, surrendering six runs in six innings.