RICHMOND, Va. (Mar. 6, 2022) – Powered by a team-high two RBI in game one from sophomore Shannon Sisco (Cicero, N.Y./Mansfield University), the Mercy College softball team earned a 4-3 win over Virginia Union University in game one before falling 8-6 in game two on Sunday afternoon at Panther Park.
The Mavericks (2-8) snap a five-game losing streak with the game one win, while the Panthers (3-1) have won three of their first four games.
Game 1: Mercy 4, Virginia Union 3
Mercy struck first with a run in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead. Senior Alexis Crawford (Hemet, Calif./West Valley High) led off the inning with a walk and stole second before Sisco singled and advanced to second on the throw. Crawford later scored on a wild pitch to put the Mavericks up 1-0.
The Panthers tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the third on two hits. The score remained 1-1 until the bottom of the fourth when Nevaeh Johnson hit a two-run home run to give the hosts a 3-1 lead.
Mercy regrouped and scored three runs in the top of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. Freshman Maddie Lula (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) singled to lead off the inning and Crawford singled to put runners on first and second. Sisco then tripled to left field, scoring both Crawford and Lula to tie the game at 3-3. Sophomore Alexandra Karavias (Westbury, N.Y./WT Clarke) singled to right field, plating Sisco for the go-ahead run. A double play ended the rally but Mercy retook the lead at 4-3.
Junior Alexi Benson (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) retired the Panthers in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to give Mercy the game one win.
Sisco went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run and Karavias went 1-for-2 with an RBI. Lula went 1-for-3 with a run and Crawford went 2-for-3 with two runs. Benson pitched a complete game with five strikeouts to earn her second win of the season.
Virginia Union was led by Johnson who went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Dominique Mulero pitched a complete game to take the loss.
Mercy had seven hits and zero errors and Virginia Union had five hits and one error.
Game 2: Virginia Union 8, Mercy 6
Mercy took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on three hits and one Panther error. Crawford, Sisco and junior Sydney Johnston (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) led off the game with three straight singles. Sisco later scored on a wild pitch to give Mercy a 1-0 lead. Johnston scored the second run following an error by the shortstop to make it 2-0.
Virginia Union tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the first on a Sydnee Brown two-run single. The Panthers took a 4-2 lead in the second inning after a Mulero two-run home run. Sisco led off the third inning for the Mavericks with a single and later scored to get Mercy to within one, 4-3.
A Mya Tino RBI single in the third inning gave the hosts a 5-3 lead after three innings. The Panthers tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning to increase their lead to 8-3.
Mercy inched closer with a run in the fifth inning to make it 8-4. Crawford led off the inning with a hit by pitch and stole second and third before scoring on an error by the catcher. Junior Samantha Franck (La Habra Heights, Calif./La Habra) recorded a two-run double in the top of the seventh to cut the hosts lead to two, 8-6. Lula later singled to load the bases, but a groundout ended the game.
Sisco went 3-for-4 with three runs and Franck went 1-for-1 with two RBI. Crawford went 1-for-3 with a run and Johnston went 1-for-2 with a run. Karavias batted 1-for-4 and Lula went 1-for-4. Senior Sabrina Gonzalez (Royal Palm Beach, Fla./Wellington) pitched 3.1 innings with six earned runs allowed. Junior Angelina Oquendo (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) pitched 2.2 innings to take the loss.
Virginia Union was led by Mulero who went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Ericka Tiscareno pitched six innings to earn the win. Mulero pitched the seventh inning to earn the save.
Mercy had eight hits and two errors and Virginia Union had nine hits and five errors.
Head Coach Mike Fazio and the Mavericks resume action on Sunday, March 13th when they play at Adelphi at 1 p.m.
