DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (July 12, 2023) – For the eighth year, Mercy College Athletics will recap the year by counting down the Top-10 most memorable moments of the 2022-23 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 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next four weeks, culminating with the top moment from the 2022-23 athletic year being unveiled on Monday, July 31st.
No. 9 – Softball Qualifies for ECC Tournament for Third Straight Year
Coming in at No. 9 in our 2022-23 Top-10 Moments is softball who qualified for the ECC Tournament for the third straight season.
Mercy entered the 2023 season picked fourth in the ECC Preseason Poll after qualifying for the ECC Tournament in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Head Coach Jaime Lorenzo entered her first full season as head coach in 2023 and the Mavericks headed down to North Myrtle Beach where they faced Alderson Broaddus, Bentley, and Saint Anselm for six games. Mercy went 0-6 on the trip but were very competitive against teams that would contend for NCAA Tournament berths. Following the trip, freshman Cayla Crawford was named ECC Rookie of the Week and junior Shannon Sisco was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Lorenzo and the Mavericks returned to Dobbs Ferry for a couple of weeks before heading down to Florida to play eight games in four days. Mercy opened the trip with a hard-fought 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh-Johnstown on March 9th and would lose their next four games on the trip to fall to 0-11 on the year. The Mavericks would pick up their first win of the season on March 11th against American International by a score of 3-2. Sisco went 1-for-4 with two RBI and sophomore Victoria Seppala went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Senior Alexi Benson pitched a complete game with just one earned run allowed and 10 strikeouts to earn the win.
The Mavericks concluded the trip with two games at Rollins on March 12th. After the trip, Crawford was named ECC Player and Rookie of the Week and Benson was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Mercy returned to New York with a record of 1-13 but got back to their winning ways in their home opener on March 18th. The Mavericks earned 11-10 and 13-12 wins over Bloomfield to improve to 3-13 on the year. Senior Nicole Smart brought home the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the eighth after Bloomfield scored four runs in the top of the inning, giving Mercy an 11-10 game one win. Senior Sydney Johnston went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI and Smart went 1-for-5 with two RBI. Freshman Marina Provencio pitched 2.2 innings of relief to earn her first collegiate win.
The Mavericks magic continued to work in game as they overcame another deficit to earn a 13-12 win. The Bears took a 12-11 lead in the fifth inning before Mercy scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 13-12 lead. Junior Mia Harris doubled and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 12-12. Sisco later scored on a senior Samantha Franck RBI single to put the Mavericks up for good. Provencio pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh innings to earn the game two win. Johnston went 3-for-4 with four RBI in game two and Franck went 2-for-3 with four RBI. Following the sweep, Johnston was named ECC Player of the Week.
Mercy dropped both ends of a doubleheader to 2023 NCAA Tournament participants Adelphi and Caldwell on March 21st and 24th to fall to 3-17 on the year. The Mavericks regained their form on March 26th when they returned to Smith Field and earned 5-4 and 14-4 wins over Goldey-Beacom. In game one, Seppala led off the seventh inning with a walk and Johnston later doubled to right center, scoring Seppala to give Mercy the 5-4 walk-off win. Johnston went 2-for-4 with four RBI and a home run and Crawford went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Benson pitched a complete game to earn the game one win. The Mavericks continued to impress in game two, jumping out to a 14-3 lead and did not look back in earning a 14-4 win in five innings. Franck went 2-for-3 with four RBI and a home run and Smart went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Senior Angelina Oquendo pitched a complete game with two earned runs allowed to earn her first win of the season. Franck was named to the ECC Honor Roll following the sweep.
Lorenzo and the Mavericks opened ECC play on March 28th at Smith Field against St. Thomas Aquinas. Mercy dropped both games despite a home run from Franck and an RBI from Smart to fall to 5-19 on the year. The Mavericks continued ECC play on March 30th dropping a pair of games at ECC foe Molloy. In game one against Molloy, Benson recorded her 283rd career strikeout, setting a new school record for career strikeouts. She surpassed the previous record of 282 strikeouts set by Mary Sieber in 2014. Mercy got back on track on April 2nd when they earned an 8-7 win over D'Youville before falling 10-8 in game two. Game one was tied 7-7 heading into the seventh inning. Freshman Daedra VanLuvanee reached on an error and later scored on a wild pitch to give Mercy the lead. Provencio struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to give Mercy the win. Sisco was tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll following the week of games.
The Mavericks earned another doubleheader split on April 4th against Staten Island to improve to 7-23 on the year and 2-6 in ECC play. Mercy cruised to an 11-1 win in five innings in game one with Benson allowing just two hits and striking out six to earn her third win of the season. Franck, Seppala, junior Alexandra Karavias and Crawford all hit home runs in the win. Mercy dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision in game two. After the week, Crawford was named ECC Rookie of the Week again and Franck was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Mercy picked up another split on April 13th at Queens to improve to 8-24 on the year and 3-7 in ECC play. The Mavericks fell 3-2 in game one before earning a 6-5 win in game two. In game one, Benson recorded her 300th career strikeout becoming the first Maverick in program history to reach the mark. Mercy scored five runs in the third inning of game two to take a 5-0 lead. Franck brought home senior Hailey Puglia to make it 1-0 and freshman Elizabeth Stark hit a grand slam to make it 5-0. The Mavericks would hold on for the 6-5 win with Stark going 2-for-4 with a career-high four RBI and her second home run. Franck went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Sisco went 3-for-4. Freshman Mackayla Secoda pitched 2.2 innings to earn her first collegiate win and Provencio tossed two shutout innings to earn her first collegiate save.
The Mavericks followed up their split against the Knights with a sweep of Queens the next day at Smith Field. The wins gave Mercy double-digit wins on the year and moved them to 5-7 in ECC play. Mercy cruised to a 7-0 game one win with Franck going 3-for-3 with three RBI and her fifth home run of the season. Crawford went 2-for-3 with an RBI and her fourth home run. Benson allowed just five hits and struck out six to earn the win. Mercy squeaked out a 5-4 win in game two to earn the sweep. Smart went 1-for-3 with an RBI and Crawford went 2-for-3. Provencio allowed just two earned runs in 6.2 innings to earn the win and Oquendo recorded one out to earn the save.
Mercy stepped out of conference play and dropped two games to Felician on April 16th. Crawford was again named ECC Rookie of the Week and Franck was named to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks picked up another win this time against 2023 ECC Champions St. Thomas Aquinas on April 18th. Mercy earned a 3-1 win in game one with Sisco and Seppala both going 1-for-4 with an RBI. Benson pitched another gem, allowing one run and four hits with four strikeouts to earn the win. The Mavericks fell 6-2 in game two.
Mercy hosted Molloy for Senior Day on April 22nd. In a ceremony prior to the game, Benson, Johnston, Smart, Puglia, Oqunedo, Franck and Bianca Mesadieu were recognized for their contributions to the program. Mercy would earn a split against the first-place Lions to move to 12-28 overall and 7-9 in ECC play. The Mavericks earned a 5-4 win in game one with Smart singling home Sisco to give Mercy a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Maddie Lula then drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0. Seppala made it 3-0 in the second inning following a triple that scored Sisco. Johnston doubled home Crawford to make it 4-0 and Franck added a home run in the fourth inning to make it 5-0. The Lions would cut the deficit to one, 5-4, but Benson pitched a scoreless seventh inning to give Mercy the game one win. Molloy took game two, 7-2, but Sisco recorded her 100th career hit with a leadoff triple.
On April 23rd, the Mavericks earned a split with D'Youville to move to 13-29 overall and 8-10 in ECC action. The win secured Mercy's third straight ECC Tournament berth. Mercy earned a 9-4 win in game one with Johnston going 3-for-4 with a career-high five RBI and Crawford went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Provencio allowed one run in four innings to earn the win. The Mavericks dropped a 9-2 decision in game two, but Franck recorded her 100th career hit with a 2-for-2 game two. Crawford was named ECC Rookie of the Week again and Sisco received Honor Roll honors.
Mercy concluded the regular season with a sweep at Staten Island on April 27th to end the regular season at 15-29 overall and 10-10 in ECC play. With the sweep, Mercy earned the No. 3 seed in the ECC Championship. Game one saw the Mavericks earn a 7-2 win with Smart going 4-for-4 with an RBI and Sisco going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Secoda pitched a complete game with no earned runs allowed and four strikeouts to earn the win. The nightcap saw Mercy come away with a 6-3 victory. Crawford went 2-for-3 with her fifth home run of the season and Seppala and Harris both went 1-for-4 with two RBI. Provencio allowed just three runs in seven innings to earn the win. After the last week of the regular season, Secoda was named ECC Rookie of the Week and Smart was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Lorenzo and the Mavericks drew the No. 3 seed in the ECC Tournament and would play at No. 2 seed St. Thomas Aquinas on the first day of the championship. The Spartans took a 4-0 lead after two innings, but Mercy battled back with two runs in the fourth inning to make it 4-2. Franck doubled and Johnston singled before Karavias doubled to right field, scoring both Franck and Johnston to make it 4-2. STAC would tack on three more runs to take a 7-2 lead and earned the 7-2 win.
Mercy had a day off before facing No. 1 seed Molloy in an elimination game of the ECC Tournament. The game stayed scoreless until the third inning when Mercy scored two runs to take a 2-0 lead. Harris and Sisco singled to lead off the inning and would later score on a Crawford double to make it 2-0. Molloy scored a run in the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game at 2-2. The game stayed tied after seven innings, sending the game into extra innings. A two-run home run by Natalie Moussa gave the Lions a 4-2 lead in the 11th inning and Molloy held Mercy scoreless in the bottom of the 11th to end Mercy's season in the ECC Tournament for the third straight season. The Mavericks ended their season 15-31 overall, surpassing their win total from 2022.
After the season concluded, Crawford was named ECC Rookie of the Year after being named ECC Rookie of the Week five times. She was also named First Team All-ECC and Franck, Johnston, Sisco and Seppala were also named First Team All-ECC. Crawford was also named NFCA First Team All-Region and D2CCA Second Team All-Region after leading the ECC in average (.434) with 53 hits, 31 runs, 22 RBI, five home runs, eight doubles, one triple and 15 stolen bases.
The team also excelled in the classroom with Franck, Benson, Johnston, Smart and Harris being named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Softball Academic All-District Team. Johnston was also named the ECC Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Mavericks qualified for the ECC Tournament in Lorenzo's first full season as head coach and will look to improve upon their success in 2024.
Schedule for the Top-10 Moments of the 2022-23 Season
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next four weeks, the Mercy College Athletic Department will release the Top-10 moments one at a time beginning with the No. 10 moment on Monday, July 10th. The No. 1 moment will be unveiled on Monday, July 31st.
No. 1 – July 31st
No. 2 – July 28th
No. 3 – July 26th
No. 4 – July 24th
No. 5 – July 21st
No. 6 – July 19th
No. 7 – July 17th
No. 8 – July 14th
No. 9 - July 12th
No. 10 – Men's Basketball Sweeps Bridgeport for First Time Since 2005
