DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (July 13, 2022) – For the seventh year, Mercy College Athletics will recap the year by counting down the Top-10 most memorable moments of the 2021-22 season, with all 10 sports represented.
Mercy College Athletics will release a Top-10 moment, as chosen by the athletics staff, with a recap every Wednesday and Friday for the next five weeks, culminating with the top moment from the 2021-22 athletic year being unveiled on Friday, August 5th.
No. 7 – Softball Makes ECC Championship for Second Straight Year
Coming in at No. 7 in our 2021-22 Top-10 Moments is softball who qualified for the ECC Championship for the second straight year.
Mercy began the 2022 season looking to make the ECC Championship for the second straight year after going 17-14 in 2021. The Mavericks were picked fourth in the ECC Preseason Poll and opened their season down south for the first time since 2019.
The Mavericks began their 2022 season on February 18th with a hard-fought 6-5 loss to Francis Marion. Mercy battled back the next day and earned a split with Bloomsburg and Tusculum. After dropping a 4-3 decision to Bloomsburg in the opening game of the day, the Mavericks earned a 4-1 win over a Tusculum team that entered the game at 8-2 on the year. Ariana Ricci led the way with three RBI and Alexi Benson allowed just one run to earn the win.
Mercy concluded their South Carolina trip on February 20th with an 11-2 loss to Bloomsburg, ending the trip with a 1-3 record. After the trip, Shannon Sisco was named ECC Player of the Week, Benson was tabbed Pitcher of the Week, Victoria Seppala received Rookie of the Week and Ricci was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Following nearly two weeks off, the Mavericks headed back down south to North Carolina where they faced Mount Olive and West Liberty on March 4th. The Mavericks dropped both games to fall to 1-5 on the year. Mercy faced West Liberty and Mount Olive again on March 5th, falling in both games to conclude their stay in North Carolina.
The Mavericks then headed north to play at Virginia Union on March 6th. Mercy earned a 4-3 win in game one, aided by a team-high two RBI from Sisco, to give the Mavericks their second win of the season. Mercy fell in the second game by a score of 8-6.
Mercy headed back to New York and opened play in the north on March 14th with a doubleheader at Adelphi on March 14th. Maddie Lula had a team-high two hits, but Mercy fell in both games to a Panther team that would qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
The Mavericks trekked back down south this time playing in Florida. Mercy opened the trip with a pair of losses to Barry on March 18th. Samantha Franck had an RBI to lead the Mavericks. The next day saw Ricci record a team-high three RBI, but it was not enough as Mercy fell to Lynn in both ends of a doubleheader.
Mercy continued the trip on March 21st with a doubleheader at Eckerd. Benson and Sabrina Gonzalez combined to allow three runs, but the Mavericks dropped narrow 1-0 and 2-0 decisions. The following day Mercy continued its schedule against some of the top Division II schools in the country when they played at Florida Tech. Seppala had a team-high two hits, but the Mavericks dropped both games heading into their final game of the trip. Mercy ended their trip on March 23rd against No. 25 Embry-Riddle with Hailey Puglia recorded three hits and an RBI. The Mavericks nearly pulled the upset but fell 4-3.
Jaime Lorenzo took over as interim head coach prior to the Mavericks doubleheader at Pace on March 30th. Ylannah Bowman had two RBI and Benson struck out 11 batters in the doubleheader, but Mercy lost both games to a Pace team that would make the NCAA Tournament.
Mercy began ECC play just two days later against Bridgeport. Franck hit a home run, but the Mavericks dropped both games to the defending ECC Champions. The Mavericks got back in the win column on April 3rd when they earned an 8-2 game one win over Staten Island. Lula hit two home runs on the day as Mercy earned a split with the Dolphins. The win gave Lorenzo her first win as interim head coach and snapped a 16-game losing streak for Mercy.
The Mavericks continued their winning ways as they earned another split, this time against Molloy on the road on April 5th. Franck and Ricci both had a team-high two RBI to lead the way. Mercy later improved to 3-5 in ECC play on April 9th when they earned a split with Queens. Benson threw a complete game three-hitter to lead the Mavericks to a 6-1 win in game one.
Lorenzo and the Mavericks earned their fourth straight split on April 10th against first-place STAC. Mercy earned a 7-3 win in game one with four Mavericks recording an RBI. Mercy returned home and recorded their fifth straight doubleheader split with a 6-1 game one win over D'Youville on April 15th. Bowman produced a home run and Benson tossed another complete game to move Mercy to 5-7 in ECC play.
The next day the Mavericks honored seniors Alexis Crawford, Bowman, Ricci, Gonzalez, and Danielle Burgos for Senior Day against Molloy. After dropping the opening game, Mercy salvaged a split with a 3-1 win in game two. Franck led the way with a team-high five hits and four RBI on the day. Following the games against Molloy, Franck was named ECC Player of the Week and Benson was tabbed Pitcher of the Week for the second time.
On April 19th, the Mavericks earned their seventh straight doubleheader split against STAC. Mercy netted a 4-2 win in game one before falling 8-1 in the nightcap. Crawford and Sydney Johnston both had a team-high two RBI on the day.
Mercy improved to 8-10 in ECC action on April 21st when they split with Queens a second time. Franck had a team-high four RBI, and a home run and Benson pitched a one-hitter to earn the win. The Mavericks headed to Western New York for a doubleheader at D'Youville on April 24th. Crawford had a team-high two RBI on the day, but the Mavericks dropped 8-0 and 6-5 decisions to the Saints to fall to 8-12 in ECC play.
The Mavericks dropped a pair of hard-fought decisions on April 29th to a Bridgeport team that would win the ECC Championship and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Mercy fell to 8-14 in ECC play and saw their losing streak extend to five games.
Mercy needed a win in their final doubleheader of the regular season against Staten Island on April 30th. The Mavericks dropped a 5-4 decision in game one but would come away with a 6-5 victory in the nightcap to secure their second straight ECC Championship appearance. Lula helped lead the way with a team-high three RBI on the day. The win helped the Mavericks finish the regular season with a 9-15 mark in ECC play, earning them the No. 4 seed in the ECC Championship. Mercy would play at No. 1 seed STAC on May 4th. The Mavericks were able to make the ECC Championship despite a coaching change midseason and enduring a 16-game losing streak during the season.
On May 4th, the Mavericks faced STAC in their opening game of the ECC Championship. Mercy fell behind 1-0 in the bottom of the first. The Mavericks tied the game in the top of the second when Nicole Smart singled and later scored on a Ricci sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1. STAC later retook the lead in the third inning and added on a run in the fifth inning to take a 3-1 lead. Mercy inched closer in the seventh inning with Alexandra Karavias led off the inning with a home run to make it 3-2. However, the Spartans retired the next three batters to earn the win.
Prior to their second game of the ECC Championship, Benson, Crawford, Sisco and Franck were all named Second Team All-ECC. Mercy would face No. 3 seed Molloy on May 6th needing a win to advance and continue their season. The Mavericks took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth when Bowman singled to left field scoring Crawford. Molloy scored four runs in the top of the seventh to take a 4-1 lead and held on for the win to end the Mavericks season.
On May 16th, Johnston was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Softball Team for the second time. After leading the Mavericks to the postseason for the second straight year after taking over midseason, Lorenzo had the interim tag removed and was named head coach on June 3rd.
Lorenzo will enter her first full season as head coach in 2023 and will look to get the Mavericks back to the ECC Championship for the third straight year.
Schedule for the Top-10 Moments of the 2021-22 Season
Every Wednesday and Friday for the next five weeks, the Mercy College Athletic Department will release the Top-10 moments one at a time beginning with the No. 10 moment on Wednesday, July 6th. The No. 1 moment will be unveiled on Friday, August 5th.
No. 1 - August 5th
No. 2 - August 3rd
No. 3 - July 29th
No. 4 - July 27th
No. 5 - July 22nd
No. 6 - July 20th
No. 7 - July 15th
No. 8 - Men's Soccer Nearly Qualifies for ECC Championship
No. 9 - Field Hockey Wins at No. 9 American International
No. 10 – Men's Basketball Sweeps Molloy for First Time Since 2005
