MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. (Mar. 5, 2022) – Despite four Mavericks recording an RBI, the Mercy College softball team dropped a 7-2 decision to RV West Liberty University before falling 6-2 to University of Mount Olive on Saturday afternoon at Cassell Field.
The Mavericks (1-7) have dropped five games in a row, while the Hilltoppers (3-7) have won two games in a row and the Trojans (15-5) have won five of their last six games.
Game 1: RV West Liberty 7, Mercy 2
West Liberty scored two runs in the bottom of the second on a Sidney Little RBI single and a Riley Conkle sacrifice fly to take a 2-0 lead. Mercy got a run back in the top of the third to make it 2-1. Freshman Maddie Lula (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) singled and advanced to third on a fielding error. Freshman Victoria Seppala (Abington, Mass./Abington) then drove her in with a sacrifice fly.
The score remained 2-1 until the fourth inning when West Liberty scored five runs on six hits to take a 7-1 lead. Mercy later made it 7-2 after scoring in the top of the sixth. Junior Samantha Franck (La Habra Heights, Calif./La Habra) singled and junior Sydney Johnston (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) and senior Ylannah Bowman (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) walked to load the bases. Junior Nicole Smart (Santa Clarita, Calif./Golden Valley) then drove in Franck after reaching on a fielder's choice.
Mercy could not score again and the Hilltoppers came away with the win.
Senior Alexis Crawford (Hemet, Calif./West Valley High) went 2-for-4 and Johnston and Lula both went 1-for-2. Franck went 1-for-3 and Smart and Seppala added an RBI. Sophomore Alexandra Karavias (Westbury, N.Y./WT Clarke) pitched 3.2 innings with seven runs allowed to take the loss. Junior Angelina Oquendo (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.
West Liberty was led by Kieran Johnson who went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Riley Bennington pitched two innings of relief to earn the win.
Mercy had five hits and two errors and West Liberty had 12 hits and one error.
Game 2: Mount Olive 6, Mercy 2
Mount Olive struck first with two runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-0 lead. The score remained 2-0 until the top of the fourth when Mercy scored two runs to tie the game at 2-2. Crawford walked to lead off the inning and Franck followed with a single to put runners on first and second. Smart was later hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Senior Ariana Ricci (Sacramento, Calif./Cosumnes Oaks) then drew a bases-loaded walk to score Crawford for the first run. Lula continued the rally with a single to first base, plating Franck to tie the game at 2-2. A flyout to first ended the inning with the bases loaded.
The Trojans retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run home run by Cana Shrock to make it 4-2. Mount Olive added two more runs in the fifth inning to increase the lead to 6-2. Mercy was unable to score in the final two innings, giving the hosts the win.
Lula went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Franck went 1-for-3. Crawford went 1-for-1 with a stolen base and Ricci had an RBI. Senior Sabrina Gonzalez (Royal Palm Beach, Fla./Wellington) pitched a complete game with six runs allowed to take the loss.
Mount Olive was led by Shrock who went 2-for-2 with two RBI. Lauren King pitched a complete game to earn the win.
Mercy had four hits and no errors and Mount Olive had 11 hits and no errors.
Head Coach Mike Fazio and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they play at Virginia Union at 12 p.m.
