Softball Earns Split With Mitchell College

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Elms College softball team earned a double-header split with Mitchell College in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action on Sunday afternoon at Alumni field in New London, Conn.

With the split which resulted in a pair of 5-4 contests, Elms improves to 3-7 overall, 1-1 in NECC play, while Mitchell moves to 5-10 on the season, 1-1 in conference action.

Game One – Mitchell 5, Elms 4

In the opener, Mitchell raced out to a three-run lead in the top of the first as two runs scored on a pair of Elms miscues followed by an RBI single off the bat of Shannon O'Neil (Chicopee, Mass.) to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead.

The Blazers responded with four runs in the bottom of the first when sophomore designated player Kierstan Skinner (South Windsor, Conn.) doubled to right center, advanced to third on a base hit to left field by junior shortstop Gina DiGiovanni (Springfield, Mass.) and then scored on a Mitchell error following a stolen base by DiGiovanni.

A groundout advanced DiGiovanni to third before junior catcher Gianna Gonyea (East Longmeadow, Mass.) cracked an RBI single down the right field line to plate the second run. With two outs in the frame, junior center fielder Jennifer Bouvier (Mashpee, Mass.) singled in Gonyea and Bouvier and later scored on a Mariners' error following a single by senior left fielder Kellie McLaughlin (Pittsfield, Mass.) to give Elms a 4-3 lead.

Mitchell knotted the game at 4-4 in the top of the fourth when Jenny Groman (New Britain, Conn.) scored on a dropped fly ball, and Lindsey Romagnino (Totowa, N.J.) crossed the dish with the winning run in the top of the seventh when Dylan Riccardi (Elmont, N.Y.) reached on an infield error with the bases loaded to give Mitchell a 5-4 advantage.

Brittany Fiederlein (Hampton, Conn.) retired Elms in order in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the victory. She tossed seven innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on 10 hits and struck out three.

Rivkah Berkman (New London, Conn.) and O'Neil notched two hits each for Mitchell.

Elms' junior pitcher Beth Grimes (Terryville, Conn.) went seven innings and allowed five runs (zero earned) on six hits and walked six while fanning two batters in the losing effort.

DiGiovanni, Gonyeah and Bouvier each had two hits for the Blazers, while Kierstan Skinner, Bouvier and Grimes each had a double.

Game Two – Elms 5, Mitchell 4

In game two, junior hurler Jessica Colson (Agawam, Mass.) scattered five hits and struck out six batters in seven innings of work. She allowed four runs (one earned) to help seal the victory.

Grimes was 3 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Gonyea and freshman right fielder Kylen O'Hearn (Somers, Conn.) was 2 for 2 with a run scored in the winning effort.

Elms plated its first run in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by senior third baseman Hayley Zisk (Baldwinville, Mass.) and then notched three in the bottom of the fourth on run-scoring singles by junior pinch-hitter Rachel Beery (Springfield, Mass.), DiGiovanni and Grimes to give the Blazers a 4-0 edge.

Mitchell responded in the top of the sixth stanza when Groman laced a two-run double to left center field and then scored when Fiederlein ripped a ground-rule double down the left field line to set the score at 4-3.

Grimes then launched a home run in the bottom of the sixth for what proved to be the game-winning run to lift the score to 5-3 in favor of Elms.

Mitchell used an RBI sacrifice bunt off the bat of Samantha Ryan (Quaker Hill, Conn.) to pull to within one but O'Hearn made a terrific catch when Groman lifted a deep fly ball to right field to preserve the Blazers' one-run victory.

Tricia Tomaselli (Guilford, Conn.) suffered the loss in the circle for the Mariners.

Elms is back in league action on Thursday, March 27 when it hosts Southern Vermont College in double header action at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. at Cheryl R. Condon Field.