NEWTON, MA – Freshman starting pitcher Allie Norris (Plymouth, MA) won both ends of a doubleheader to lead the Mount Ida College softball team to a sweep over visiting Wheelock College, winning the first game, 9-1 and the second contest, 10-2, this afternoon in Newton, MA on the Mount Ida campus. The Mustangs improve to 7-10 on the season, while the Wildcats fall to 0-5.
Norris allowed just seven hits in 10 innings, while striking out 12 and walking two on the day for Mount Ida.
Wheelock College got on the board first in the opening contest when freshman pitcher Kiersten Cosgrove (Pequannock, NJ) was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and later scored on a two-out single to left center off the bat of sophomore catcher Molly Rose (Weymouth, MA) to give the Wildcats a 1-0 edge. It would be their only run of the game as the Mustangs answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame and never looked back. Senior second baseman Tiffany Hamann (Newton, MA) and junior shortstop Kirsten Guerrero (Fairfield, CT) both wrapped walks around a fielder's choice by sophomore third baseman Nickole Soto (Marlboro, MA) to load the bases and set up a run-scoring base on balls by freshman catcher Kaitlyn Berube (Fall River, MA) to knot the score at 1-1 for Mount Ida. Senior left fielder Meghan Moriarty (Holbrook, MA) and senior center fielder Chaise Courbron (Monroe, CT) each drew walks to force in a run as well, while an RBI fielder's choice from freshman right fielder Yaritza Otero (Boston, MA) helped contribute to the inning.
Mount Ida scored twice more in the second inning, keyed by a run-scoring single by Otero to give the home team a 6-1 lead. The Mustangs scored the final runs of the opening game in the fourth, taking advantage of three errors to cross the plate four times for a 10-1 advantage. Norris helped her own cause by knocking in a run with a sacrifice fly. The game was halted after five innings due to the eight-run mercy rule.
Hamann was 2-3 with an RBI, a run scored, a walk and two stolen bases, while Otero drove in a pair of runs to lead all hitters. Seven batters scored at least one run in the game for the Mustangs. Senior shortstop Kim Perault (Medford, MA), senior center fielder Sara Buscemi (Arlington, MA) and Rose each collected a hit for Wheelock. Norris threw five complete innings and allowed just one run on three hits, while striking out seven and walking one to pick up the win for the Mustangs. Cosgrove suffered the loss for the Wildcats, giving up 10 runs (four earned) on six hits and nine walks to go with two strikeouts.
Mount Ida scored in every inning it came to the plate in the nightcap and began the second game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Meeker led off the inning with a single and later came around to score on a one-out single by Guerrero, before the Mustangs added another run for a 2-0 margin. They tacked on two more runs in the second, thanks to a wild pitch and an RBI single from Meeker. Mount Ida increased its cushion to 8-0 in the third with run-scoring singles from Guerrero and Moriarty in addition to a double down the line from Berube to bring home another run. The Mustangs tacked on one more run in the fourth to give them a 9-0 lead after junior Megan Hall (Danielson, CT) came through with a pinch-hit single to plate their final run of the afternoon.
Wheelock cracked the scoring column in the top of the fifth when senior shortstop Jacky Hull (Braintree, MA) reached on an infield single to lead off the inning, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single in front of the plate from Cosgrove to make it 9-1. It would be all the scoring the Wildcats could muster as the game ended after five innings.
Meeker and Guerrero each rapped out two hits to lead Mount Ida, while Cosgrove, Hull, freshman second baseman Felicia Baptista (Stoughton, MA) and sophomore first baseman Becca House (Middlebury, CT) each had a hit for Wheelock. Norris yielded just one run on four hits, while fanning five and issuing one walk in five innings to improve to 5-1 on the year for the Mustangs, while Perault allowed nine runs (six earned) and struck out three for the Wildcats.
Mount Ida will be in action again on Friday, April 5 when it hosts Rivier University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference twinbill at 3:00 p.m., while Wheelock travels to Nashua, NH on April 6 for a noon doubleheader at New England Collegiate Conference foe Daniel Webster College.