DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 20, 2025) – The Mercy University softball team hosts American International College for a doubleheader on Saturday, March 22nd starting at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, March 22nd 12 & 2 p.m.
Records: Mercy (7-7), American International (3-5)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. American International
Mercy earned a 3-2 win over AIC on March 11, 2023.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy entered the 2025 season picked second in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 14-28 overall and 8-12 in ECC play last season, qualifying for the ECC Tournament for the fourth straight season. The Mavericks earned the No. 4 seed in the ECC Tournament last season and look to qualify for the ECC Tournament for the fifth straight season under Head Coach Jaime Lorenzo.
Leading the returners for the Mavericks is sophomore Averi Miller who hit .336 last season with 30 RBI, 24 runs, eight stolen bases and eight doubles last season. Also returning is sophomore Allison Murphy who hit .299 in 2024 with 11 RBI, seven doubles and two home runs. Murphy had a team-high 31 runs and set a single-season school record with 25 stolen bases. Sophomore Dylan Reyer is back after hitting .308 with 11 RBI, 19 stolen bases and 21 runs scored.
Senior Victoria Seppala is back after being named First Team All-ECC in 2023. She hit .328 with 15 RBI and 28 runs scored in 2023. Sophomore Julianna Coluccio also returns after hitting .300 last season before suffering a season-ending injury. She had nine RBI and nine runs scored in 60 at bats last season. Graduate student Mia Harris is back after hitting .286 a year ago before suffering a season-ending injury. Seniors Madilyn Lula and Kimberlee Childs, junior Elizabeth Stark and sophomore Onnika DeBruhl return after combining for seven RBI and 14 runs scored in 2024.
Leading the returners on the pitching staff is junior Mackayla Secoda who went 6-7 last season with a team-best 3.57 ERA in 94.0 innings with 45 strikeouts. Junior Marina Provencio also returns after pitching 25.1 innings last season with a 1-3 record and 10 strikeouts.
Lorenzo also brings in a strong recruiting class highlighted by Division I Stonehill College transfer senior Skylar Brandemarte. The senior won 21 games in three years at Stonehill with a 4.06 ERA in 431.1 innings with 230 strikeouts. Also joining the Mavericks is freshman Talia Salanto who was named All-State and All-SCC First Team at Jonathan Law High School. Freshman Keira Jantz joins the Mavericks from Islip High School and was named All-County twice. Freshman Alexis Lemus joins Mercy from South Hills High School in California where she hit .412 during her senior year. Freshman Lauren McSweeney was named All-Division, All-County three times and League Pitcher of the Year three times at Islip High School. Freshman Jessica Fox joins Mercy from Morris Knolls High School where she was named Second Team All-Conference and freshman Carly Gaffney holds the school record for strikeouts and hits at Palmerton Area High School. Freshman Mikaela Mammola joins the Mavericks from Pawling High School and was named All-Section and All-League.
Mercy is coming off 3-0 and 4-2 wins over Staten Island on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by freshman Lauren McSweeney who tossed a complete game shutout in game one and by graduate student Mia Harris who had a team-high four hits and two RBI. Mercy has been led at the plate by freshman Jessica Fox who is hitting .243 with seven runs to go with three RBI. Sophomore Averi Miller is hitting a team-high .289 with a team-high 10 RBI and 13 hits to go with a team-high eight runs. Senior Madilyn Lula is hitting .257 with four RBI and senior Victoria Seppala has three RBI. Sophomore Allison Murphy is hitting .280 with eight RBI and seven runs scored and freshman Keira Jantz has six RBI. Senior Skylar Brandemarte leads the pitching staff with a 3-3 record, a 1.50 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 46.2 innings pitched. Freshman Lauren McSweeney is 3-0 in the circle with a 0.91 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 23.0 innings and junior Mackayla Secoda is 1-2 with a 4.11 ERA in 15.1 innings with 13 strikeouts.
Brandemarte, Miller and McSweeney were named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday. McSweeney was named ECC Rookie of the Week last week and graduate student Mia Harris, Lula, Brandemarte and freshman Mikaela Mammola were named to the Honor Roll. Freshman Alexis Lemus was named ECC Player and Rookie of the Week on March 3rd and Secoda was tabbed Pitcher of the Week. Jantz and Brandemarte received Honor Roll recognition.
Scouting the Yellow Jackets
AIC is coming off a 7-0 loss to Indiana (Pa.) on March 14th. The Yellow Jackets were picked 10th in the NE10 Preseason Poll after going 9-25 last season. AIC has been led by Julia Krijgsman who is hitting a team-high .480 with a team-high eight RBI, seven runs and six doubles. Jilien Ayala is hitting .478 with six RBI and three runs and Nevaeh Trejo is hitting .429 with five runs and two RBI. Gabrielle Lambert has a team-best 5.81 ERA in 15.2 innings with a 1-3 record and seven strikeouts and Trinity LaValley is 1-2 with a 6.39 ERA in 15.1 innings. Krijgsman is 1-0 with a 7.27 ERA in a team-high 17.1 innings.
Next Game
Mercy plays at St. Thomas Aquinas on Tuesday, March 25th at 2:30 p.m.
