SPARKILL, N.Y. (May 3, 2023) – Despite a team-high two RBI from junior Alexandra Karavias (Westbury, N.Y./WT Clarke), the No. 3 seeded Mercy College softball team dropped a 7-2 decision to No. 2 seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College in Game Two of the East Coast Conference (ECC) Softball Championship on Wednesday afternoon at Spartan Field.
The Mavericks (15-30) see their two-game winning streak come to an end and fall to the Spartans (29-16) for the fourth time this season. Mercy will now face No. 1 seed Molloy in an elimination game on Friday, May 5th at 12:30 p.m. at Molloy.
Karavias went 1-for-3 with two RBI and senior Nicole Smart (Santa Clarita, Calif./Golden Valley) went 2-for-3. Senior Samantha Franck (La Habra Heights, Calif./La Habra) went 1-for-2 with a run and senior Sydney Johnston (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) went 1-for-3 with a run. Senior Alexi Benson (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) allowed six runs in five innings to take the loss.
St. Thomas Aquinas was led by Eliana Raposo who went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Carissa Della Vecchia pitched a complete game with 10 strikeouts to earn the win.
The Spartans took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a three-run home run by Raposo.
St. Thomas Aquinas added a run in the bottom of the second on an Adriana Coira RBI single to make it 4-0.
The Mavericks scored both of their runs in the fourth inning to make it 4-2. Franck doubled and Johnston singled to put runners on first and third. After a popup made two outs in the inning, Karavias doubled to right field, scoring both Franck and Johnston to make it 4-2.
The Spartans tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning on a pair of sacrifice flies to make it 6-2.
St. Thomas Aquinas added a run in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly to take a 7-2 lead.
Smart singled in the seventh inning, but the Mavericks were unable to score and the Spartans earned the 7-2 win.
Mercy had five hits and one error and St. Thomas Aquinas had eight hits and no errors.
Head Coach Jaime Lorenzo and the Mavericks resume action on Friday when they play at No. 1 seed Molloy in an ECC Softball Championship elimination game at 12:30 p.m.
