MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. (Mar. 4, 2022) – Despite an RBI from sophomore Shannon Sisco (Cicero, N.Y./Mansfield University) and junior Sydney Johnston (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial), the Mercy College softball team dropped a 23-0 decision to University of Mount Olive before falling 9-2 to RV West Liberty University on Friday afternoon at Cassell Field.
The Mavericks (1-5) have dropped three games in a row, while the Trojans (13-4) have won three games in a row and the Hilltoppers (1-6) pick up their first win of the season.
Game 1: Mount Olive 23, Mercy 0
Mount Olive plated 10 runs in the first and second innings to take a 20-0 lead after two innings. The Trojans tacked on three runs in the third inning to increase the lead to 23-0.
Freshman Maddie Lula (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) recorded the Mavericks lone hit in the top of the fifth but it was not enough as Mount Olive earned the win via the run-rule.
Lula went 1-for-2 and sophomore Alexandra Karavias (Westbury, N.Y./WT Clarke) pitched 0.2 innings with nine runs allowed to take the loss.
Mount Olive was led by Madison Morgan who went 3-for-4 with a game-high six RBI. Hannah Killough pitched a complete game to earn the win.
Mercy had one hit and two errors and Mount Olive had 19 hits and zero errors.
Game 2: West Liberty 9, Mercy 2
West Liberty scored three runs in the top of the first and two runs in the top of the second to take a 5-0 lead after two innings. Mercy answered with a run in the bottom of the third to make it 5-1. Senior Alexis Crawford (Hemet, Calif./West Valley High) doubled and Sisco singled to bring home Crawford for the Mavericks first run.
The Hilltoppers added two more runs in the fourth and two more runs in the fifth to build a 9-1 lead. Mercy scored their second run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 9-2. Sisco doubled and later scored on a Johnston RBI single up the middle.
Mercy went down in order in the sixth and seventh innings, giving West Liberty the win.
Sisco went 2-for-4 with one RBI and Johnston went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Freshman Victoria Seppala (Abington, Mass./Abington) went 1-for-2 and seniors Ariana Ricci (Sacramento, Calif./Cosumnes Oaks) and Ylannah Bowman (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) went 1-for-3. Crawford went 1-for-4 and junior Alexi Benson (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) pitched 4.1 innings with six earned runs allowed to take the loss.
West Liberty was led by Annie Paterson who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Riley Bennington pitched five innings to earn the win.
Mercy had seven hits and three errors and West Liberty had 11 hits and one error.
Head Coach Mike Fazio and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they face West Liberty at 2 p.m. and Mount Olive at 4 p.m. at Mount Olive.
