DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 6, 2025) – The Mercy University softball team plays eight games down in Melbourne, Florida starting on Friday, March 7th at 11:30 a.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Friday, March 7th 11:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-0), Southern New Hampshire (5-2) & Holy Family (4-8)
Location: Melbourne, Fla.
Date/Time: Saturday, March 8th 10 a.m. & 12:15 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-0), Gannon (6-2) & Cedarville (3-13)
Location: Melbourne, Fla.
Date/Time: Monday, March 10th 4:45 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-0), New Haven (0-0), Bloomfield (0-8)
Location: Melbourne, Fla.
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 11th 12:15 p.m. & 2:30 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-0), West Chester (5-2) & Thomas More (4-4)
Location: Melbourne, Fla.
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 opened their 2025 season on March 1st earning 4-2 and 4-0 wins over Bloomfield. The Mavericks have been led by freshman Alexis Lemus who is batting a team-high .667 with a team-high three RBI and a stolen base. Freshman Keira Jantz is hitting .667 with one RBI and freshman Jessica Fox is hitting .333 with one RBI. Sophomores Allison Murphy and Averi Miller both have an RBI and Miller and graduate student Mia Harris both have a team-high two stolen bases. Junior Mackayla Secoda leads the pitching staff with a 0.00 ERA in 7.0 innings pitched with eight strikeouts and a 1-0 record. Senior Skylar Brandemarte is 1-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 8.0 innings with six strikeouts.
Lemus was named ECC Player and Rookie of the Week on Monday and Secoda was tabbed Pitcher of the Week. Jantz and Brandemarte received Honor Roll recognition.
Scouting the Penmen
Southern N.H. is coming off a 3-2 win over Felician on Thursday. The Penmen will take on Cedarville before facing Mercy on Friday. SNHU was picked fourth in the NE10 Preseason Poll after going 25-18 last season, qualifying for the NE10 Championship. The Penmen have been led by Jordyn Resetar who is batting .409 with three RBI and six runs. Mackenzie Bruggeman is hitting .407 with five RBI and Alyssa Abbott has a team-high eight RBI. Amelia Freitas is 2-2 in the circle with a 3.92 ERA in 25.0 innings with 18 strikeouts. Julianna Colbert is 1-0 with a 4.73 ERA in 13.1 innings.
Scouting the Tigers
Holy Family is coming off a 6-5 win over Cedarville on Thursday. The Tigers will face Roosevelt on Friday before taking on Mercy. Holy Family was picked sixth in the CACC Preseason Poll after going 14-30 last season, qualifying for the CACC Championship. The Tigers have been led by Sam Ciasullo who is hitting a team-high .310 with a team-high seven RBI and two home runs. Lily Hoban is hitting .292 with four RBI and Madison Grubb and Alexis Letizia both have five RBI. Paige Tidaback is 1-2 in the circle with a 2.51 ERA in 22.1 innings and Kinsley Hall is 1-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 32.0 innings with 40 strikeouts. Molly Moore is 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA in 18.0 innings.
Scouting the Golden Knights
Gannon will face Ursuline and Felician on Thursday before taking on Mercy on Saturday. The Golden Knights were picked first in the PSAC West Division Preseason Poll after going 32-15 last season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Gannon has been led by Emma Smerick who is batting a team-high .481 with two home runs and 11 RBI and a team-high 17 runs. Natalia Mallozzi is hitting .464 with a team-high-tying 12 RBI and a team-high three home runs and Jenna Clontz has a team-high-tying 12 RBI. Maggie Lenda is 2-0 in the circle with a 3.04 ERA in 23.0 innings and Katie Armstrong is 3-0 with a 3.92 ERA in 19.2 innings with 26 strikeouts.
Scouting the Yellow Jackets
Cedarville will face Southern N.H., Goldey-Beacom and Jefferson before taking on Mercy on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets were picked sixth in the G-MAC Preseason Poll after going 24-31 last season, qualifying for the G-MAC Championship. Cedarville is led by Mackenzie Lashuay who is hitting .340 with a team-high 11 RBI and 10 runs. Camryn Taktak is hitting a team-high .370 with nine RBI and two home runs and Ella Leonard has nine RBI. Maya Merrill is 2-6 in the circle with a 5.38 ERA in 40.1 innings and Kara Adkins is 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA in 26.0 innings.
Scouting the Chargers
New Haven will host Molloy for a doubleheader on Saturday before facing Mercy on Monday. The Chargers were picked 11th in the NE10 Preseason Poll after going 7-35 last season. Leading the returners for New Haven is Brianna Trueman who hit .277 last season with 12 RBI and 11 runs. Also returning is Bella Chenet who had 12 RBI in 2024 with a team-high 20 runs scored. Kylie Thorpe returns after hitting .276 with eight RBI. Breanna Kinney returns in the circle after going 4-17 last season with a 4.36 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 106.0 innings. Viana McKinley is back after going 2-11 with a 4.41 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 93.2 innings.
Scouting the Bears
Bloomfield will face Lawrence Tech, Indiana Tech, Ursuline, Thomas More and D'Youville before taking on Mercy on Monday. The Bears were picked eighth in the CACC Preseason Poll after going 20-24 last season, qualifying for the CACC Tournament. Bloomfield has been led by Daniela Vidal who is hitting .278 with five hits. Islynn Lugo, Jillian Holmes and Rayn Romero each have an RBI. Romero is 0-3 in the circle with a 7.64 ERA in 22.0 innings and Kate Juskiewicz is 0-4 with an 11.07 ERA in 18.1 innings.
Scouting the Golden Rams
West Chester will face Southern N.H., Felician, Columbus State and Bloomfield before taking on Mercy on Tuesday. The Golden Rams were picked second in the PSAC East Division Preseason Poll after going 36-22 last season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. West Chester has been led by Julia Miller who is batting a team-high .435 with two RBI. Paige Marabell is hitting .417 with a team-high 13 RBI and four home runs and Casey Best has 10 RBI. Danielle Ciliberto is 4-1 with a 1.86 ERA in 26.1 innings and Makenzie Edwards is 1-1 with a 4.04 ERA in 17.1 innings.
Scouting the Saints
Thomas More will face Roosevelt, Jefferson, Goldey-Beacom, Bloomfield and New Haven before taking on Mercy on Tuesday. The Saints were picked 11th in the G-MAC Preseason Poll after going 15-35 last season. Thomas More has been led by Emily Allphin who has a team-high nine RBI. Josie Wefer is hitting a team-high .389 with four RBI and Natalie Harris is hitting .333 with three RBI. Kylie Ropp is 3-1 in the circle with a 3.50 ERA in 28.0 innings and Kendra Steinberg is 1-1 with a 9.33 ERA in 12.0 innings.
Next Game
Mercy plays at Adelphi for a doubleheader on March 16th starting at 12 p.m.
