MELBOURNE, Fla. (Mar. 10, 2025) – Powered by a game-high four RBI from sophomore Averi Miller (Las Vegas, Nev./Arbor View) in game one and a game-high four RBI from sophomore Allison Murphy (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) in game two, the Mercy University softball team earned a 7-1 win over University of New Haven before earning a 14-6 win over Bloomfield College on Monday night.
The Mavericks (5-3) have won three games in a row and are off to their best start since the 2021 season when they also started 5-3. New Haven (0-3) and Bloomfield (0-14) both remain winless on the year.
Game 1: Mercy 7, New Haven 1
The game remained scoreless until the third inning when Mercy scored two runs to take a 2-0 lead. Junior Elizabeth Stark (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) singled and graduate student Mia Harris (West Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) walked to lead off the inning. Miller later singled home both Stark and Harris to give Mercy a 2-0 lead.
The Mavericks scored four runs in the fifth inning to take a 6-0 lead. Sophomore Dylan Reyer (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) singled with two outs before Miller homered to give Mercy a 4-0 lead. Senior Victoria Seppala (Abington, Mass./Abington) singled and later scored on a freshman Keira Jantz (Islip, N.Y./Islip) walk to make it 5-0. Freshman Jessica Fox (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls) later scored on a passed ball to give Mercy a 6-0 lead.
Mercy made it 7-0 in the sixth inning when Murphy recorded an RBI groundout.
Senior Skylar Brandemarte (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Stonehill College) allowed her lone run in the seventh inning, but was able to keep the Chargers from scoring again, giving Mercy the 7-1 win.
Mercy was led by Miller who went 2-for-3 with her first home run of the season and a game-high four RBI. Stark went 1-for-2 with two runs and Reyer went 1-for-4 with a run. Seppala went 1-for-3 with a run and Fox went 1-for-1 with a run. Brandemarte pitched a complete game with one run and three hits allowed with three strikeouts to earn her second win of the season.
New Haven was led by Olivia Roberto who went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Skylar Griffin allowed two runs in 3.0 innings to take the loss.
Mercy had six hits and no errors and New Haven had three hits and no errors.
Game 2: Mercy 14, Bloomfield 6 (6 Innings)
Mercy scored two runs in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead. The Bears scored all six of their runs in the bottom of the first to take a 6-2 lead.
The Mavericks made it 6-3 with a run in the third inning. Miller walked and Seppala singled to lead off the inning before senior Madilyn Lula (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) recorded an RBI groundout, scoring Miller to make it 6-3.
Mercy scored another run in the fourth inning to make it 6-4. Sophomore Onnika DeBruhl (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) walked to lead off the inning and scored on a Murphy RBI double.
The Mavericks recorded four runs in the fifth inning to take an 8-6 lead. Freshman Alexis Lemus (Chino, Calif./South Hills) recorded a two-run double that allowed Fox and Seppala to score to tie the game at 6-6. Murphy then singled home Lemus and freshman Talia Salanto (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) to give Mercy an 8-6 lead.
Mercy exploded for six runs in the sixth inning to take a 14-6 lead. Miller scored the first run of the inning after leading off the inning with a double. Salanto brought home the second run on a sacrifice to give Mercy a 10-6 lead. Lula then scored on a wild pitch to make it 11-6 and Murphy singled home DeBruhl to give Mercy a 12-6 lead. Senior Kimberlee Childs (Queens, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) then doubled, allowing Murphy and Lemus to score, giving the Mavericks a 14-6 lead.
Freshman Lauren McSweeney (Islip, N.Y./Islip) pitched a scoreless bottom of the sixth inning to give Mercy the 14-6 win via the run-rule.
Mercy was led by Murphy who went 3-for-5 with four RBI and two runs and by Lemus who went 2-for-2 with two RBI. Childs went 1-for-1 with two RBI and Miller went 1-for-4 with two runs. Seppala went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Fox went 1-for-2 with two runs. Lula went 1-for-4 with an RBI and Salanto went 1-for-2 with an RBI. DeBruhl went 1-for-3 with two runs and freshman Carly Gaffney (Palmerton, Pa./Palmerton Area) pitched the first 3.0 innings with six runs allowed to take a no-decision. McSweeney pitched the final 3.0 innings with four strikeouts to earn her second win of the season.
Bloomfield was led by Hailey Connor who went 1-for-3 with three RBI. Rayn Romero took the loss in the circle.
Mercy had 13 hits and no errors and Bloomfield had four hits and two errors.
Head Coach Jaime Lorenzo and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they face West Chester at 12:15 p.m. and Thomas More at 2:30 p.m. in Florida.
