DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 18, 2023) – Powered by eight different Mavericks recording an RBI on the day, the Mercy College softball team earned 11-10 and 13-12 wins over Bloomfield College in their home opener on Saturday afternoon at Smith Field.
The Mavericks (3-13) snap a two-game losing streak and have won six straight meetings against the Bears (3-19).
Game 1: Mercy 11, Bloomfield 10 (8 Innings)
Bloomfield took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a Daniela Vidal RBI single. Mercy struck back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. Sophomore Victoria Seppala (Abington, Mass./Abington) led off the rally with a single and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 1-1. Freshman Cayla Crawford (Hemet, Calif./West Valley) scored the second run of the inning on a wild pitch to give Mercy a 2-1 lead.
The Mavericks took a 3-1 lead in the second inning following a Shannon Sisco (Cicero, N.Y./Mansfield University) RBI groundout. Bloomfield scored a run in the third inning to make it 3-2. Home runs from seniors Sydney Johnston (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) and Samantha Franck (La Habra Heights, Calif./La Habra) in the third inning gave Mercy a 5-2 lead.
The score remained 5-2 until the top of the sixth when Bloomfield scored three runs to tie the game at 5-5. Mercy regained the lead in the bottom of the inning to take a 6-5 lead. Seppala doubled and scored on a Crawford double to make it 6-5.
Bloomfield tied the game in the seventh inning with an unearned run to make it 6-6. Mercy went down in order in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game into extra innings.
The Bears scored four runs in the top of the eighth to make it 10-6. The Mavericks would score five runs in the bottom of the inning to earn the 11-10 walk-off win. Senior Hailey Puglia (Holtsville, N.Y./Assumption University) drove in the first run of the inning on an RBI single and Seppala brought home the second run on a sacrifice fly. Johnston made it 10-9 with an RBI single and senior Nicole Smart (Santa Clarita, Calif./Golden Valley) brought home the tying and winning runs to give Mercy the 11-10 win.
Johnston went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI and Franck went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Seppala and Crawford both went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI and Sisco went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Smart went 1-for-5 with two RBI and Puglia went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Sophomore Maddie Lula (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) and junior Mia Harris (West Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) both went 1-for-2 and junior Alexandra Karavias (Westbury, N.Y./WT Clarke) went 1-for-1. Senior Alexi Benson (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) pitched 5.1 innings with one earned run allowed to earn a no-decision. Freshman Marina Provencio (Saugus, Calif./Saugus) pitched 2.2 innings to earn her first collegiate win.
Bloomfield was led by Vidal who went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Jillian Holmes pitched 4.2 innings to take the loss.
Mercy had 15 hits and six errors and Bloomfield had 14 hits and two errors.
Game 2: Mercy 13, Bloomfield 12
Mercy took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on three hits. The Mavericks increased the lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the second following a three-run double from Johnston.
Bloomfield scored nine runs in the top of the third to take a 9-5 lead. The Bears added two more runs in the top of the fourth to take an 11-5 lead.
The Mavericks battled back with six runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 11-11. Sisco doubled and later scored on a Crawford RBI single to make it 11-6. Johnston brought home the second run of the inning on a single to center field to make it 11-7. Franck plated Crawford after a sacrifice fly and Smart singled to make it 11-9. Freshman Elizabeth Stark (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) then hit her first collegiate home run to left field to tie the game at 11-11.
Bloomfield retook the lead at 12-11 after a run in the top of the fifth. Mercy took the lead back for good in the bottom of the fifth following a pair of runs to make it 13-12. Harris doubled and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 12-12. Sisco singled earlier in the inning and would score on a Franck RBI single to give Mercy a 13-12 lead.
Provencio did not allow a run in the sixth or seventh innings to earn the win in game two.
Johnston went 3-for-4 with four RBI and Franck went 2-for-3 with four RBI. Stark went 2-for-3 with two RBI and Sisco went 4-for-5 with three runs. Crawford went 1-for-2 with an RBI and Seppala went 1-for-3 with three runs. Smart went 1-for-4 with an RBI and Puglia went 1-for-3. Harris went 1-for-3 and senior Angelina Oquendo (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) pitched 2.1 innings to earn a no-decision. Provencio pitched 4.2 innings with two earned runs allowed to earn the win.
Bloomfield was led by Sierra Albritton who went 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Mercy had 16 hits and three errors and Bloomfield had 14 hits and two errors.
Head Coach Jaime Lorenzo and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, March 21st when they play at Adelphi at a time to be announced.
