Couillard Records Second Five-Hit Day as Softball Closes Out Florida Trip
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CLERMONT, Fla. (Mar. 15, 2014) – Junior Jackie Couillard (Wolcott, Conn. / Wolcott) mashed five hits for the second time this season over the Mercy College softball team's final two games in Florida against Minnesota State University-Moorhead and University of Sioux Falls.
Mercy 4, Minn. St. Moorhead 5
The Mavericks took a two-run lead in the top of the second inning as freshman Julie Gross (Port Monmouth, N.J. / Middletown North), freshman Jordyn Moquin (Southington, Conn. / Southington) and senior Briana Panarese (Monroe, N.Y. / Monroe-Woodbury) loaded the bases with no outs before Gross scored on a passed ball. Senior Ashley Johnstone (Bellmore, N.Y. / John F. Kennedy) then drove Moquin home on a single up the middle.
Couillard made it a three-run lead as she drove in Johnson on a double in the top of the third inning. Freshman Anna Cochis (Clifton Park, N.Y. / Catholic Central) held the Moorhead offense in check through four innings before surrendering her first earned run, which came on a two-run shot after Cochis had left the game. Moorhead then took the 5-3 lead with a three-run sixth inning. The Mavericks scored on a two-out Couillard single to make it 5-4 with runners on first and second, but a sharp groundout ended the game.
Couillard went 2-for-3 with one walk and two RBI while Moquin was 2-for-3 with one run in her first game as the designated player. Junior Megan Johnson (Gilbert, Ariz. / Phoenix College) also reached base twice, going 1-for-3 with a walk and one run, while junior Michelle Duford (Maple Ridge, B.C., Canada) singled in a pinch-hit appearance that led to the Mavericks' seventh-inning run, which was scored by pinch-runner junior Eryn Martinez (Moreno Valley, Calif. / Santa Ana CC).
Mercy 6, Sioux Falls 7 (8 inn.)
The Mavericks took a commanding 5-0 lead in Game Two as a double by senior Kelly Bentson (Brewster, N.Y. / Brewster) scored two in the first inning and a Couillard double brought another around in the third before freshman Alicia Pavadore (Taunton, Mass. / Taunton) singled home Couillard, with Bentson also scoring on the throw.
Sioux Falls quickly got back into the game, however, as a four-run fourth inning cut the Mavericks' lead to one. Mercy came up with a crucial run in the bottom of the fifth inning as Couillard led off with a single and scored on a single by Gross. The Cougars put up two runs on an error in the sixth inning and the game would go into extra innings, where Sioux Falls was able to squeeze out the eventual game-winning run with two outs.
Five Mavericks recorded multi-hit games, led by Couillard's 3-for-4 day with two doubles, two runs and one RBI. Bentson was 2-for-3 with a walk, one run and two RBI while Johnson went 2-for-4 with two runs and a stolen base. Gross and senior Natalie Wabshinak (New Fairfield, Conn. / New Fairfield) each went 2-for-4, with Gross adding one RBI and a stolen base. Senior Mary Sieber (Massapequa Park, N.Y. / Massapequa) recorded her second complete game of the week, allowing four earned runs while striking out six over the eight-inning affair.
Head Coach Mike Fazio and the Mavericks will head out to Goldey Beacom College on Wednesday, Mar. 19 for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
