Duford Walk-Off Home Run and Cochis Shutout Lead Softball to Sweep of Bridgeport
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Apr. 15, 2015) – Powered by a walk-off home run from senior Michelle Duford (Maple Ridge, B.C./Seward County CC) in game one and a five-inning complete game shutout from sophomore Anna Cochis (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central) in game two, the Mercy College softball team earned their first doubleheader sweep of the season with 4-3 and 8-0 victories over Bridgeport on Wednesday afternoon at Smith Field.
The Mavericks (8-28, 7-12 ECC) snap a five-game skid with the sweep and split the season series with Bridgeport, while the Purple Knights (9-25, 5-15 ECC) have now dropped four in a row.
Game 1: Mercy 4, Bridgeport 3
The opener saw a back-and-forth affair with the game being tied on three separate occasions. The guests got on the board first on a Katelyn Wall RBI single to left field to make it 1-0 after the first half inning of play.
Mercy responded in the bottom half of the inning with senior Jackie Couillard (Wolcott, Conn./Wolcott) continuing her hot streak with an RBI single to left center to score sophomore Janelle Wade (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) and tie the game up at 1-1.
Bridgeport regained the lead in the second with an unearned run to make it 2-1. The Mavericks returned the favor in the bottom of the second with an unearned run of their own to even up the game at 2-2 after two innings.
After an eventful first two innings, the game remained deadlocked at 2-2 until the sixth inning when the Purple Knights took a 3-2 lead with two outs on a Meghan O'Leary home run to left field.
Mercy would find the equalizer in the bottom half of the frame as freshman Morgan Lloyd (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) singled home senior Angela Zayas (Livingston Manor, N.Y./Livingston Manor Central) to make it 3-3 after six innings.
After a scoreless top of the seventh by Bridgeport, the Mavericks went into their final at bat looking for some late game magic and Duford delivered with a leadoff homer to center field to give Mercy a walk-off 4-3 win and set the tone for game two.
Couillard went 3-for-4 in game one with an RBI, while Duford , Lloyd and Wade each recorded multi-hit games. Sophomore Holly Pundick (Whiterock, B.C./Jefferson College) made the start and went 5 2/3 innings with two earned runs allowed on six hits before giving way to Cochis who pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win.
Game 2: Mercy 8, Bridgeport 0
After their dramatic game one win, Mercy would cruise to a game two win with eight runs on ten hits to down the Purple Knights via the run rule.
After two and a half scoreless innings, the Mavericks broke through with four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-0 lead after three. During the inning Mercy received RBI singles from sophomore Liza Ueno (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) and junior Milana Gilaga (Elmwood Park, N.J./Memorial) and were aided by a Bridgeport error.
Cochis cruised the rest of the way with only two hits allowed after being given the lead and the Mavericks would put up another four spot in the fifth to make it 8-0. In the inning, Couillard came up with another RBI single which was later followed with an Amanda Gardiner (Stratford, N.J./Sterling) two-RBI double and a steal of home by Gardiner to end the game after five.
Duford ended the nightcap 2-for-2 with a run scored, while freshman Baylee McCormick (Las Vegas, Nev./Indian Springs) finished 2-for-3 with a run scored. Ueno concluded the win with a 1-for-3 outing with a run scored and RBI, while Cochis finished with a five-inning complete game with five hits allowed to earn a second win on the day and improve to 3-7 in the circle.
Head Coach Mike Fazio and the Mavericks return to action with a single game against Molloy College at Smith Field on Friday, April 17th at 4:30 pm.
