ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (May 2, 2021) – Despite a team-high three RBI on the day from senior Alyssa Guzman (Riverside, Calif./Mount San Antonio College), the Mercy College softball team dropped 6-4 and 10-8 decisions to ECC foe Molloy College on Sunday afternoon at Bob Klein Field.
The Mavericks (15-11, 14-8 ECC) see their two-game winning streak come to an end, while the Lions (28-12, 16-6 ECC) have won 12 games in a row.
Game 1: Molloy 6, Mercy 4
Mercy struck first with two runs in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead. Junior Alexis Crawford (Hemet, Calif./West Valley High) led off the game with a single and later scored on an Ylannah Bowman (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. Sophomore Nicole Smart (Santa Clarita, Calif./Golden Valley) plated the second run with an RBI single to right field to give Mercy a 2-0 lead.
Mercy added a run in the top of the second following two Molloy errors to take a 3-0 lead.
Molloy got a run back in the bottom of the second to make it 3-1. The score remained 3-1 until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Lions scored three runs to take a 4-3 lead.
The hosts tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning to build a 6-3 lead. Mercy plated a run in the seventh on a Bowman RBI double to make it 6-4, but a groundout ended the inning and game.
Bowman went 1-for-1 with two RBI and Smart went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Senior Danielle Burgos (Calexico, Calif./Arizona Western College) went 2-for-4 with two runs and Crawford, senior Hannah Mueller (Fair Oaks, Calif./Bella Vista) and sophomore Sydney Johnston (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) all went 1-for-4. Junior Katelyn Shephard (Beaumont, Calif./Beaumont) pitched 5.1 innings of relief with one earned run allowed to take the loss.
Molloy was led by Courtney Greene who went 3-for-3 with two RBI and tossed a complete game to earn the win.
Game 2: Molloy 10, Mercy 8
Mercy scored first again in game two, plating three runs to take a 3-0 lead. Crawford singled again to lead off the game and Mueller followed with another single. Burgos then doubled home Crawford to make it 1-0. Mueller scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0 and sophomore Alexi Benson (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) brought in the final run on a groundout to give Mercy a 3-0 lead.
Molloy tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the second with three runs. The Lions took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the third with a run to make it 4-3.
Mercy tied the game at 4-4 in the fourth inning. Benson and senior Casey Akers (Keller, Texas/Timber Creek) both doubled to put runners on second and third. Akers later scored on a Crawford RBI single to tie the game.
Mercy retook the lead in the fifth with four runs to take an 8-4 lead. Guzman delivered a double with the bases loaded that scored three runs to make it 7-4. Sophomore Hailey Puglia (Holtsville, N.Y./Assumption College) brought home Guzman on a sacrifice fly to make it 8-4.
The Lions scored three runs in the fifth to make it 8-7. The score remained 8-7 heading to the Lions final at bat. A single and walk put runners on first and second with two outs. Karsyn Eaton then hit a walk-off home run to center field that gave Molloy the 10-8 win.
Guzman went 1-for-1 with three RBI and Crawford and Burgos went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Benson went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Mueller and freshman Alexandra Karavias (Westbury, N.Y./WT Clarke) went 1-for-4. Junior Catherine Zucker (North Babylon, N.Y./St. Joseph's College (LI)) faced two batters in the seventh to take the loss.
Molloy was led by Eaton who went 2-for-5 with four RBI. Greene pitched 1.2 scoreless innings to earn the win.
Head Coach Mike Fazio and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, May 4th when they play at Queens at 2:30 p.m.
