DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (July 5, 2024) – For the ninth year, Mercy University Athletics will recap the year by counting down the Top-10 most memorable moments of the 2023-24 season, with all 10 sports represented.
Mercy University 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 2023-24 athletic year being unveiled on Monday, July 22nd.
No. 8 – Softball Qualifies for ECC Championship for Fourth Straight Year
Coming in at No. 8 in our 2023-24 Top-10 Moments is softball who qualified for the ECC Championship for the fourth straight season.
Head Coach Jaime Lorenzo and the Mavericks were picked third in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 15-31 overall and 10-10 in ECC play in 2023, qualifying for the ECC Championship for the third consecutive season.
The Mavericks opened their 2024 season on March 7th when they faced Franklin Pierce and Ferris State. Mercy was led by graduate student Angelina Oquendo who tossed an eight-inning complete game with one earned run allowed to earn the win over Ferris State after the Mavericks dropped their season opener to Franklin Pierce. Freshman Averi Miller added two hits and an RBI in the win as Mercy started the season 1-1 for the first time since 2020.
Mercy continued to play in Florida the next day, falling to Cedarville and Davenport to drop to 1-3 on the year. Graduate student Nicole Smart had a team-high three RBI on the day and freshmen Madison Haack and Dylan Reyer combined for four hits against Davenport.
On March 9th, the Mavericks picked up their second win of the season against Ursuline by a score of 7-1 after dropping a 6-2 decision to Ferris State earlier in the day. Graduate student Samantha Franck went 1-for-3 with her first home run of the season and Miller went 2-for-4 with two RBI against Ursuline. Sophomore Mackayla Secoda pitched a complete game with one run allowed and six strikeouts to earn the win.
Lorenzo and the Mavericks concluded their trip in the Sunshine State with losses to Franklin Pierce and Illinois-Springfield to end the trip at 2-6. Following the season-opening trip, Oquendo and Miller were named to the ECC Honor Roll.
The Mavericks returned to New York and opened the northern portion of their schedule at Georgian Court on March 17th. Despite the first collegiate home run from senior Shannon Sisco and a team-high three RBI from Smart, Mercy dropped 6-5 and 9-5 decisions to the Lions. After the games against Georgian Court, Sisco was named to the ECC Honor Roll for the first time this season.
Mercy was back in action on March 20th, falling 7-1 and 6-4 to Southern Connecticut State in New Haven. Freshman Julianna Coluccio went 3-for-3 with an RBI and sophomore Delaney Baker went 1-for-2 with two RBI in game two. The next day, the Mavericks opened ECC play at Queens where they fell 7-5 and 13-5 to the Knights with Coluccio hitting her first collegiate home run in game two.
The Mavericks sat at 2-12 overall and had lost eight games in a row, heading into their doubleheader at 2023 NCAA Tournament participant Bentley on March 24th. Mercy found their groove and exploded for 18 runs and held the Falcons to just four runs as they swept Bentley by scores of 9-1 and 9-3. In game one, Smart hit her first career home run and had two RBI and Franck, Baker and Coluccio each added two RBI. Graduate student Alexi Benson allowed just one run in six innings to earn her first win of the season. Game two saw Sisco go 4-for-5 with two RBI and freshman Allison Murphy go 3-for-5 with two RBI. Secoda allowed just two earned runs in seven innings to earn the win. Smart, Secoda and Baker were named to the ECC Honor Roll after the sweep of Bentley.
Lorenzo and the Mavericks resumed ECC play on March 26th at 2024 ECC Champion and NCAA Tournament participant St. Thomas Aquinas. Miller had a team-high five hits on the day, but Mercy dropped heartbreaking 2-1 and 3-2 decisions to the Spartans.
Mercy ended the week and month at D'Youville on March 30th. The Mavericks earned a split, taking game one 10-1 before falling 5-4 in game two. Benson tossed a complete game in game one and Franck had a game-high three RBI to lead Mercy to their first ECC win of the season. Following the week, Benson, Franck, Sisco and Miller were named to the ECC Honor Roll.
After playing their first 20 games of the season away from Smith Field, the Mavericks finally had their home opener on April 5th against Staten Island. Mercy delivered a pair of dramatic walk-off wins against the Dolphins, earning 9-8 and 12-11 wins to move the Mavericks to 7-15 overall and 3-5 in ECC play. In game one, Staten Island held an 8-7 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh. Murphy walked with two outs and Sisco doubled to put runners on second and third. Miller then singled to left field, scoring both Murphy and Sisco to give Mercy the 9-8 walk-off win. Franck went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI, Miller went 3-for-4 with four RBI and Sisco went 5-for-5 with four runs. Game two was tied at 11-11 after seven innings, sending the game into extra innings. Franck hit the first pitch she saw in the eighth inning over the left center field fence, giving the Mavericks the 12-11 walk-off win and the sweep. Franck went 3-for-5 with two home runs and two RBI and Sisco went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
The Mavericks continued their four-game homestand on April 7th when they hosted Dominican. The Chargers took game one 6-3 before Mercy salvaged a split with an 8-2 game two win. Franck exploded for three home runs and six RBI on the day. Sisco recorded her 53rd career stolen base in game one, setting a new school record for career stolen bases. Franck went 2-for-3 with two home runs and four RBI in leading the Mavericks to the game two win. Haack also went 2-for-3 with her first collegiate home run and two RBI. Franck was named ECC Player of the Week and Sisco and Secoda were tabbed to the Honor Roll on April 8th.
Mercy continued non-conference action on April 9th when they played at Bloomfield. The Mavericks dropped a narrow 1-0 decision in game one before exploding for 13 runs in game two en route to earning the 13-6 win. Miller went 2-for-3 with a career-high six RBI and her first collegiate home run and Franck went 2-for-5 with three RBI and two home runs. The graduate student recorded her 10th home run in the last 11 games and Sisco went 2-for-5 with two RBI.
The Mavericks resumed ECC play on April 12th at Molloy, dropping 5-2 and 4-2 decisions to 2024 NCAA Tournament participants. Smart went 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI in game one and the graduate student went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in game two.
The next day, the Mavericks hosted Queens for a doubleheader at Smith Field, dropping a 12-5 decision in game one before earning a 6-5 win in game two. In game one, Franck went 2-for-4 with two RBI, becoming the fourth Maverick in program history to reach 100 career RBI. Game two saw Franck go 1-for-2 with her 13th home run of the season and Miller went 2-for-4 with an RBI. After the split with Queens, Mercy sat at 10-20 overall and 4-8 in ECC play. Smart was named ECC Co-Player of the Week and Franck, Miller and Secoda were tabbed to the Honor Roll on April 15th.
Despite home runs from Franck, Baker and Murphy, the Mavericks dropped 14-8 and 6-0 decisions to Molloy at Smith Field on April 16th. The following day, Mercy hosted St. Thomas Aquinas, falling 7-6 in game one before earning a 5-4 win in game two. Franck went 2-for-5 with a home run and an RBI in game one, tying the single-season school record for home runs of 15 set by Chelsea Methot in 2011. Smart went 1-for-4 with an RBI, recording her 100th career hit. Game two saw Sisco and Miller both record two RBI and sophomore Marina Provencio pitched a complete game to earn her first win of the season.
Mercy hosted D'Youville for Senior Day on April 20th with the Mavericks honoring Mia Harris, Sisco, Alexandra Karavias, Benson, Franck, Smart and Oquendo in a ceremony prior to the game. Mercy recorded a sweep on the special day, earning 6-2 and 14-8 wins over the Saints. In game one, Franck went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI, setting a new school record for home runs in a season with her 16th. Miller went 1-for-2 with two RBI and sophomore Elizabeth Stark went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Benson tossed a complete game to earn her fourth win of the season. The nightcap saw Franck go 1-for-4 with three RBI and her 17th home run of the season. Sisco and Murphy both added two RBI. Following the sweep, Mercy improved to 13-23 overall and 7-11 in ECC play, heading into the final week of the regular season. After the sweep, Murphy was named ECC Rookie of the Week and Franck and Sisco were tabbed to the Honor Roll.
In their 2024 home finale, the Mavericks hosted Caldwell on April 23rd and dropped 8-5 and 2-1 decisions to the Cougars. Murphy and Reyer both had two hits and an RBI in game one and sophomore Daedra VanLuvanee recorded an RBI in game two.
The Mavericks headed into their final regular season series needing at least a split against Staten Island to secure their fourth straight ECC Championship berth. The Dolphins earned a 5-1 game one victory to move each team to 7-12 in the ECC standings with just one game left to decide the final ECC Championship spot. Mercy relied on their experienced graduate pitcher Benson and graduate slugger Franck to get the job done. Benson tossed her best game of the season, allowing just seven hits and no runs to earn the win, throwing just 68 pitches. Franck went 1-for-2 with her 18th home run of the season and Miller went 2-for-4 with an RBI as Mercy earned a 4-0 win over Staten Island to secure the fourth and final ECC Championship spot. With her 25th stolen base of the season, Murphy set a single-season school record for stolen bases. Following the win over Staten Island, Benson, Miller and Sisco were named to the ECC Honor Roll.
Prior to the start of the conference tournament, Franck and Sisco were named First Team All-ECC and Smart was tabbed Second Team All-ECC. Franck was named All-Conference for the fourth straight season and hit an East Region best and school record18 home runs with a team-high 38 RBI. Sisco was tabbed All-Conference for the third straight season after hitting a team-high .423 with a team-high 60 hits to go along with 28 runs, 18 RBI and 24 stolen bases. Smart was named All-Conference for the first time after hitting .318 with four home runs, 21 RBI and 17 runs.
Mercy opened play in the double-elimination ECC Championship on May 2nd at top seed Molloy. The Mavericks took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a Miller RBI single. The Lions scored two runs in the bottom of the third, giving Molloy a 2-1 lead. Mercy was unable to score again, and the Lions earned the 2-1 win. Miller went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Benson tossed a complete game with just two runs and five hits allowed to take the loss.
The Mavericks needed a win on May 3rd against Queens to continue their season. However, the Knights came away with the 2-0 win, despite five strong innings from Benson and two hits from Sisco. The loss ended Mercy's season with a 14-28 record and in the ECC Championship for the fourth straight season.
Following the conclusion of the season, Sisco was named D2CCA First Team All-Region and Franck was tabbed Second Team All-Region. The duo was both named All-Region for the first time in their careers. Sisco ended her Mercy career with a .385 average, 167 hits, 95 runs, 23 doubles, 61 stolen bases, 10 triples, 38 RBI and one home run. Franck concluded her Mercy career with a .318 average, 29 home runs, 109 RBI, 143 hits, 73 runs, 32 doubles and three triples.
The team not only excelled on the field but also in the classroom with Franck, Smart, Benson and Secoda all earning College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors. Franck, with her success on the field and in the classroom, was named the ECC's Co-Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Mercy will look to build upon their success in 2024 and qualify for the ECC Championship for a fifth straight year in 2025.
Schedule for the Top-10 Moments of the 2023-24 Season
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next four weeks, the Mercy University Athletic Department will release the Top-10 moments one at a time beginning with the No. 10 moment on Monday, July 1st. The No. 1 moment will be unveiled on Monday, July 22nd.
No. 1 – July 22nd
No. 2 – July 19th
No. 3 – July 17th
No. 4 – July 15th
No. 5 – July 12th
No. 6 – July 10th
No. 7 – July 8th
No. 8 – July 5th
No. 9 – Baseball Wins 20 Games for Fourth Time Since 2018
No. 10 – Garrett Kirkland Sets School Record for Career Three-Pointers and Games Played
