BOSTON, Mass. – It took 12 innings, but the Mount Ida College softball team earned their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win on Saturday afternoon, outlasting Emmanuel College 3-2 in the first game of their double-header at Roberto Clemente Field.
The Mustangs (2-12, 1-5 GNAC) settled for a split on the day after dropping the second game to the Saints (11-12) by a count of 7-3.
Game 1: Mount Ida 3, Emmanuel 2
Shannon McArthur (Coventry, R.I.) delivered the game-winning RBI to score center fielder Meg Hall (Danielson, Conn.) after Mount Ida had forced extra innings by tying the game with two runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Freshman pitcher Nicole Handzel (Palmer, Mass.) went the entire twelve innings and allowed just six hits while striking out 15 batters to earn her first win of the year.
Mount Ida got both of their runs in the seventh on the same play, as Hall reached first on an error and both Nickole Soto (Marlboro, Mass.) and Gina Onorevole (Lafayette, N.J.) came across the plate, after each had singled earlier in the frame.
Emmanuel jumped in front with single runs in each of the first and third innings. Kerianne Vulpis delivered Catherine Davis with an RBI double in the bottom of the first before an RBI groundout by Samantha Adams plated Julia Levins to double the Saint's advantage two frames later.
Davis, the shortstop, was on base twice and stole two bags. No Saints batter had more than one base knock, but McArthur and Michele MacDonald (North Dighton, Mass.) each had two base hits for the Mustangs.
Val Kiers went the first seven innings for Emmanuel, and allowed two runs, both of them unearned. Jill Kilcoyne took the loss after pitching five innings in relief and striking out eight.
Game 2: Emmanuel 7, Mount Ida 3
MacDonald had two more hits and McArthur hit the first home run of the year for Mount Ida, who took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first but fell behind after a four-run third and a three-run sixth for Emmanuel.
The Mustangs grabbed a pair of runs in the seventh inning on McArthur's shot to left field, but fell short of another comeback win.
The teams combined for six errors, four by Emmanuel, who used a pair of two-run homeruns in the bottom of the third to grab a 4-1 edge after Kirsten Guerrero (Fairfield, Conn.) had hit a double to left field to plate MacDonald, who had reached on a bunt single and stole second to lead off the game.
Davis and Adams were the two players that went deep for Emmanuel, who helped Kilcoyne improved to 5-4 with a seven inning, six hit, six strikeout effort.
Davis drew an RBI walk in the sixth to cap the Saints scoring after designated player Jennifer Garrity had knocked a two-run double to center field to give Emmanuel three straight hits to start the inning.
Mount Ida freshman Kaitlyn Muhlenforth (Bohemia, N.Y.) fell to 1-4 on the season after going five and a third innings and allowing five earned runs on nine hits while striking out three.
Mount Ida wraps up a six-game weekend with a home double-header against Anna Maria. The Amcats and Mustangs are set for a 12:00 pm first pitch tomorrow at The Softball Field.
Emmanuel hosts Johnson & Wales University at the same time tomorrow in another conference twin-bill.