Late Rally Gives Softball Sweep of Bay Path
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bay Path | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
|
Mitchell | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 7 | 3 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bay Path | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 3 |
|
Mitchell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College softball team needed a late surge to cap off a doubleheader sweep of Bay Path University on Sunday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference play at Alumni Field.
After winning the opener by a 4-2 final, the Mariners rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to claim a 5-4 victory in the second game. Brittany Fiederlein delivered a walk-off single up the middle to plate the winning run, one of three hits in the game for the right-handed hurler. She also picked up a pair of wins inside the circle on the day – the first in a starting role and the second in relief – and struck out a total of 18 batters.
Mitchell (4-16 overall) evened its record at 3-3 in NECC play. The Mariners will next host Daniel Webster College on Tuesday, April 12 at 3 p.m. Bay Path (5-15 overall, 2-6 NECC) returns to action at home against MCLA on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Game 1 – Mitchell 4, Bay Path 2
Mitchell jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Samantha DelConte got things started with a two-out single, and Shannon O'Neil followed with a double down the left field line that kicked up chalk. After a wild pitch brought DelConte home with the game's first run, Danielle Autieri knocked in the second with a double down the left field line.
The Mariners tacked on another run in the second on an RBI single through the left side of the infield by Jacquelyn White that scored Suzanne Vachon from second base. O'Neil then led off the third inning with an opposite field homer, her first of the season, to extend the lead to 4-0.
Bay Path put two runners in scoring position with no outs in the seventh thanks to consecutive singles from Casey Botelho and Paige Marshall. After Fiederlein picked up the first out via strikeout, Gretchen Hale put a ball into play to score a run, and a Mitchell throwing error on the play brought in another. The Wildcats eventually put the tying run on base with two down, but Fiederlein got a pop up to end the game.
Fiederlein finished with a season-high 11 strikeouts and yielded only one earned run over 7.0 innings. Madison Goodhart took the loss for the Wildcats, surrendering four runs (three earned) on seven hits in 6.0 innings of work.
Game 2 – Mitchell 5, Bay Path 4
The Wildcats sent nine batters to the plate in the third inning and pushed across four runs on five hits to seize the early lead. All of the damage came with two outs, as Marissa Sarna-McCarthy drove in two runs with a looping single to shallow left with the bases loaded. A Mitchell error then extended the inning and allowed another run to score, and Krystal Fredette followed with an RBI single to complete the rally.
The Mariners got two runs back in the fourth on a two-out, two-run single to center by Taylor Duchesneau. Mitchell threatened again in the sixth, but Goodhart worked out of a tough spot to strand two runners with the two-run lead intact.
Nia Brown ignited the Mitchell rally in the seventh with a single up the middle, and Vachon and White each followed with infield singles to load the bases. DelConte then hit a squib shot down the first base line, forcing Fredette to come home for the force. The throw got away from the catcher and allowed both Brown and Vachon to score to tie the game. After an intentional walk to O'Neil loaded the bases once more, Fiederlein came through with a shot back up the box to score the game-winning run.
Fiederlein took over pitching duties in the fourth and yielded only two hits over 4.0 scoreless innings. She struck out seven of the 16 batters she face and improved to 4-9 on the season.
Sarna-McCarthy went 3-for-4 with two RBI for the Wildcats while Goodhart also finished with a pair of hits. Goodhart also took the loss in the circle after allowing five runs (three earned) on nine hits over 6.0 innings.
