DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 25, 2024) – The Mercy University softball team plays at ECC foe St. Thomas Aquinas College on Tuesday, March 26th in a doubleheader starting at 2:30 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 26th 2:30 & 4:30 p.m.
Records: Mercy (4-12, 0-2 ECC), St. Thomas Aquinas (10-14, 1-1 ECC)
Location: Sparkill, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas earned a 7-2 win over Mercy on May 3, 2023.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off 9-1 and 9-3 wins over Bentley on Sunday. The Mavericks were led by graduate student Nicole Smart who recorded her first career home run and had two RBI. Mercy enters the 2024 season picked third in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 15-31 overall and 10-10 in ECC play last season, qualifying for the ECC Tournament for the third straight season. The Mavericks earned the No. 3 seed in the ECC Tournament last season and look to qualify for the ECC Tournament for the fourth straight season under Head Coach Jaime Lorenzo.
Leading the returners for the Mavericks is graduate student Samantha Franck who was named First Team All-ECC last season after hitting .289 with 27 RBI, six home runs and 35 hits. Franck was named to the ECC Honor Roll three times last season and led the team in home runs and was fifth in the ECC in RBI. Senior Shannon Sisco also returns after being tabbed First Team All-ECC a year ago. Sisco ended the 2023 season hitting .373 with 60 hits, 39 runs, eight RBI and 20 stolen bases. She ranked second in the ECC in stolen bases and batting average last season and led the team in runs, hits, and doubles. Junior Victoria Seppala earned First Team All-ECC honors in 2023 and hit .328 with 15 RBI, two home runs, four triples, 42 hits and 28 runs scored. Seppala led the team in triples and was third in runs scored.
Graduate student Nicole Smart also returns after hitting .258 with 18 RBI, 32 hits, five doubles and 10 runs scored in 2023. Senior Mia Harris had four RBI, seven runs scored and five stolen bases last season and returns and sophomore Elizabeth Stark had two home runs, eight RBI and nine runs scored in her rookie campaign. Senior Alexandra Karavias, junior Maddie Lula and sophomore Daedra VanLuvanee return after combining for nine RBI, one home run, 11 hits and six runs scored last season. Sophomore Delaney Baker returns after sitting out last season. Baker hit .561 during her junior year of high school at South Hunterdon Regional and had the most RBI and home runs on the team.
Returning in the circle is graduate student Alexi Benson who was named Second Team All-ECC in 2022 and won six games last season with a team-best 3.73 ERA in 23 games with a team-high 99 strikeouts. Benson was named to the ECC Honor Roll once last season and had 16 complete games and tied for the team in wins in 135 innings pitched. She led the team in strikeouts and innings pitched and set a school record for career strikeouts. Sophomore Marina Provencio also returns after winning a team-high-tying six games last season. She appeared in 22 games making three starts with 30 strikeouts and one save in 52.1 innings pitched. Graduate student Angelina Oquendo made 16 starts in the circle last season and returns after recording one win, one save and 22 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched a year ago. Sophomore Mackayla Secoda returns after winning two games last season with 18 strikeouts in 35.1 innings pitched. Secoda was named ECC Rookie of the Week once last season and made five starts in the circle.
Lorenzo welcomes a strong recruiting class led by freshmen Onnika DeBruhl, Allison Murphy, Julianna Coluccio, Ryleigh Melendez, Averi Miller, Dylan Reyer and Madison Haack. Murphy was named League Player of the Year, Third Team All-State, All-Section, All-County and All-League at North Rockland High School. Coluccio was tabbed First and Second Team All-Conference during her time at Timber Creek Regional High School and Melendez was named All-League three times and All-Section twice at Lakeland High School. Miller was a four-year varsity player at Arbor View High School in Nevada and hit .356 during her career with 53 hits and 39 RBI. Reyer was named a Newsday Top 100 softball player on Long Island for three straight years and was named All-County three times.
The Mavericks also welcome junior transfers Kimberlee Childs from University of Bridgeport. Childs appeared in 15 games in two seasons at Bridgeport with seven runs scored and four stolen bases.
Mercy has been led at the plate by Coluccio who is batting .379 with a home run, eight RBI and three runs scored. Graduate student Nicole Smart was named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday and has a team-high 10 RBI and is hitting a team-high .381 with six doubles, one home run and eight runs. Senior Shannon Sico was named to the ECC Honor Roll last week and is hitting .362 with a team-high nine stolen bases and 11 runs with seven RBI. Freshman Allison Murphy is hitting .288 with 15 hits, eight runs and seven stolen bases. Freshman Averi Miller was named to the ECC Honor Roll on March 11th and is hitting .271 with seven RBI, seven runs and two doubles. Graduate student Samantha Franck has eight RBI and nine runs and freshman Dylan Reyer is hitting .263 with two RBI and eight runs. Sophomore Delaney Baker was named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday and is hitting .500 with six RBI.
The pitching staff is led by graduate student Angelina Oquendo who was named to the ECC Honor Roll on March 11th and is 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 28.0 innings with 11 strikeouts. Sophomore Mackayla Secoda is 2-3 with a 3.50 ERA in 34.0 innings with 20 strikeouts. Graduate student Alexi Benson has pitched 28.0 innings and has one win with 12 strikeouts.
Mercy is 34-22 in their last 56 meetings against the Spartans and are looking to sweep a doubleheader at STAC for the first time since 2019.
Scouting the Spartans
St. Thomas Aquinas is coming off a 2-1 loss and 9-8 win over Molloy on Friday. The Spartans were picked in a tie for first in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 32-18 last season, winning their first-ever ECC Championship. St. Thomas Aquinas is led by two-time ECC Player of the Week Eliana Raposo who is batting a team-high .419 with 14 RBI, eight doubles and 16 runs scored. Raposo is also 6-5 in the circle with a 3.83 ERA in 76.2 innings with 31 strikeouts. Elyse Marcano is hitting .367 with a team-high 18 runs and 15 RBI and Jessica Feerick also has a team-high 15 RBI. Sarah Clancy is 4-8 in the circle with a 4.12 ERA in 73.0 innings with 45 strikeouts.
Next Game
Mercy plays at D'Youville on Saturday, March 30th at 12 p.m.
