Providence, R.I. – The Mount Ida College softball team collected a 4-2 victory on Wednesday night at Scott Miracle-Gro Athletics Complex to earn a split with Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Johnson & Wales.
Mount Ida took a 9-3 loss in the opening game before taking a 4-1 lead and holding off the Wildcats in the nightcap to improve to 4-6 in the GNAC.
Game 2: Mount Ida 4, Johnson & Wales 2
The Mustangs took the 3-1 lead in the top of the second after a two run single by Lucianna Medici (Riverside, R.I.) and increased their lead to 4-1 in the top of the third on an RBI single by freshman Sam Laferriere (Tewksbury, Mass.).
Freshman Nicole Handzel (Palmer, Mass.) picked up the win for Mount Ida, allowing two runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings of work.
Mount Ida got an unearned run in the top of the first inning of game two when an RBI groundout by freshman Shannon McArthur (Coventry, R.I.) made the score 1-0. JWU responded in the bottom of the first when senior Tayla Gardner (Orangeburg, N.Y.) led off with a single and scored on an RBI single by Gorecki.
The Wildcats cut into the Mustang lead again in the bottom of the fifth when Gorecki doubled and scored on a single by Solari to make the score 4-2, but Handzel was able to work out of trouble in the late innings to secure the win.
Senior Taylor Cwalinski (Jackson, N.J.) suffered the loss in the pitching circle for JWU, allowing four runs on six hits in two innings of work. Gorecki went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI in the loss for the Wildcats.
Game 1: Johnson & Wales 9, Mount Ida 3
Johnson & Wales took the early lead in the bottom of the first on a solo home run to deep center field by Gardner for the 1-0 advantage, but a solo homer by Nicole Soto (Marlboro, Mass.) in the top of the second knotted the game at one.
JWU extended the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the frame with three unearned runs, including a two-run single by sophomore Kristen Solari (Old Bridge, N.J.). The Wildcats struck again in the bottom of the third as a solo home run to left by sophomore Cynthia Proby (Bremerton, Wash.), making the score 5-1.
Mount Ida chipped away in the top of the fourth as a two-run single by freshman Kaitlyn Muhlenforth (Bohemia, N.Y.) cut the lead to 5-3.
JWU pushed the lead to 6-3 on an RBI single by freshman Emily Gorecki (Bremerton, Wash.). The Wildcats capped off the scoring for the game in the bottom of the sixth as they added three more runs, including a two-run single by Gorecki en route to the 9-3 victory. Gardner picked up the win for JWU, striking out 10 in the complete-game victory, while Handzel suffered the loss for Mount Ida after a six-inning outing in which she gave up five runs on nine hits with five strikeouts.
The Mustangs (5-13) will be back on their home field on Friday afternoon when they host GNAC foe Suffolk in a double-header starting at 3:00 pm.
With the split, JWU is now 16-8 overall and 9-3 in GNAC play. The Wildcats are back in action on Thursday, April 10th when they host UMass Dartmouth in a non-conference twin bill at 3:30 p.m.