PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (Mar. 30, 2022) – Despite a team-high two RBI from senior Ylannah Bowman (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) and 11 strikeouts from junior Alexi Benson (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend), the Mercy College softball team dropped 2-1 and 10-5 decisions to Pace University on Wednesday afternoon.
The Mavericks (2-21) have lost 14 games in a row, while the Setters (7-7) improve to .500 on the year.
Game 1: Pace 2, Mercy 1 (9 Innings)
The game remained scoreless until the top of the fourth when Mercy scored a run to take a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Shannon Sisco (Cicero, N.Y./Mansfield University) led off the inning with a double and later scored on a junior Sydney Johnston (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) RBI single to center field.
Pace answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 1-1.
The game remained tied at 1-1 after seven innings, sending the game into extra innings. Both teams went down in order in the eighth, sending the contest into the ninth inning. Sisco was placed on second to begin the ninth inning, but was left stranded at third after advancing on a sacrifice bunt.
Pace would win the game in the bottom of the ninth when Gwen Pederson recorded a walk-off RBI single with two outs, giving the Setters the 2-1 win.
Johnston went 1-for-4 with an RBI and Sisco went 2-for-4 with a run. Junior Samantha Franck (La Habra Heights, Calif./La Habra) went 1-for-3 and Benson pitched 8.2 innings with just one earned run allowed and 11 strikeouts to take the loss.
Pace was led by Pederson who went 1-for-2 with an RBI. Gisselle Garcia pitched nine innings with just one run allowed to earn the win.
Mercy had four hits and one error and Pace had four hits and one error.
Game 2: Pace 10, Mercy 5
Pace jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an Alexandra Tejeda RBI double. Mercy answered with a run in the top of the third to tie the game at 1-1. Freshman Maddie Lula (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) led off the inning with a double and later scored on a Sisco RBI groundout. Pace took the lead back in the bottom of the third on a Tejeda RBI single, making it 2-1.
The Setters increased their lead to 5-1 in the fourth inning after scoring three runs on four hits. The Mavericks inched closer in the fifth inning when senior Ariana Ricci (Sacramento, Calif./Cosumnes Oaks) was hit by a pitch and later scored on a Lula RBI single to left field, making it 5-2.
Pace tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 8-2. Franck got Mercy a run back in the top of the sixth when she doubled down the left field line, scoring Sisco to make it 8-3. The Setters scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 10-3 lead.
The Mavericks plated two runs in the top of the seventh when Bowman hit a two-run double to left field, scoring Sisco and senior Alexis Crawford (Hemet, Calif./West Valley High) to make it 10-5. However, a flyout ended the inning and game.
Bowman went 1-for-3 with two RBI and Sisco went 1-for-4 with an RBI and two runs. Franck went 1-for-3 with an RBI and Lula went 2-for-2 with an RBI. Crawford went 1-for-3 with a run and sophomore Alexandra Karavias (Westbury, N.Y./WT Clarke) went 1-for-2. Senior Sabrina Gonzalez (Royal Palm Beach, Fla./Wellington) pitched 4.2 innings with six earned runs allowed to take the loss.
Pace was led by Tejeda who went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Mackenzie Garrick pitched four innings with one earned run allowed to earn the win.
Mercy had seven hits and two errors and Pace had 15 hits and no errors.
Interim Head Coach Jaime Lorenzo and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, April 1st when they host Bridgeport at 2:30 p.m.
