BOSTON, Mass. – Mount Ida fended off potential game-ending situations on several occasions and scored an unearned run in the top of the tenth inning to defeat Simmons College 2-1 in the first game of their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball double-header on Sunday afternoon at UMass Boston.
The Mustangs (6-16, 5-9 GNAC) settled for a split of the day, after Simmons (18-8, 11-5 GNAC) took an 11-0 decision in five innings in game two.
Game One: Mount Ida 2, Simmons 1 (10 innings)
Freshman Nicole Handzel (Palmer, Mass.) struck out 11 batters, eclipsing the 100 strikeout mark on the season, as she now has 101 K's, just seven shy of the Mount Ida single-season record.
Kaitlyn Muhlenforth (Bohemia, N.Y.) scored both runs, both of them on passed balls, and Michele MacDonald (North Dighton, Mass.) was 3-5 in the game one victory.
The Mustangs broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the 10th inning, with Muhlenforth placed on second base. MacDonald singled to give the Mustangs runners on first and third, and a passed ball by the Sharks allowed Muhlenforth to score, giving Mount Ida the go ahead run.
To get to that point, Handzel and the Mustangs stranded a pair of Sharks base-runners in each inning from the bottom of the seventh on. That included a first and third, one out situation in the bottom of the ninth, in which Handzel got two straight Simmons batters to strike out to end the inning and extend the game.
The freshman hurler struck out two more batters in the bottom of the thenth, as she improved to 5-9 on the season.
Mount Ida took a one run lead in the top of the third inning as Muhlenforth led off with a single up the middle. Megan Hall (Danielson, Conn.) advanced Muhlenforth to second off a bunt and MacDonald followed suit with a bunt to load the bases with no outs before Simmons pitcher Lauren Backhaus (Windsor, Conn.) saw her pitch get past the catcher, allowing Muhlenforth to cross the plate.
In the bottom of the inning, Simmons struck right back as junior Jen Field (Windham, Maine) singled to centerfield and Hannah Cunningham (Cotuit, Mass.) bunted and beat out the throw to first to put runners at first and second. Emily Cunningham (Cotuit, Mass.) drilled an RBI single through the right side to knot the game at one.
The Mustangs loaded the bases in the top of the seventh as Gina Onorevole (Lafayette, N.J.) reached first on an error and advanced to second on a single by Muhlenforth. MacDonald singled to left but the Sharks were able to make the final out to keep the game tied.
Backhaus fell to 9-4 on the season, pitching all ten innings and allowing seven hits while racking up nine strikeouts. Handzel issued four walks and gave up seven hits.
Game Two: Simmons 11, Mount Ida 0 (5 innings)
Onorevole had two hits for the Mustangs, but the Sharks scored five runs in the first inning and five more in the next frame en route to the run-rule victory.
H. Cunningham led off with a single up the middle and then scored as Caracciolo doubled down the left line. E. Cunningham scored Caracciolo on a single up the middle and advanced to second on a ground out by Heather White (Westfield, Mass.).
First year Brianna Rastello (Salem, N.H.) walked to give the Sharks runners at first and second before Christina Mulcahy (Cambridge, Mass.) reached on a Mustangs error and then advanced to second, with E. Cunningham scoring on the play. Kat Guillotte (New Bedford, Mass.) singled through the left side to score Rastello and then out-ran a pickle as Mulcahy stole home to give the Sharks a 5-0 lead.
Simmons doubled their lead to ten in the second as Rastello singled to score both Cunninghams. Guillotte added her second hit of the day to score Mulcahy and Rastello.
In the bottom of the third, E. Cunningham hit an RBI double to the centerfield fence to score Caracciolo for the Sharks final run of the game.
The Mustangs had runners at first and third in the top of the fourth, as Shannon McArthur (Coventry, R.I.) reached on an error and Onorevole singled, but Mount Ida was unable to drive them in, and the Sharks eventually sealed the 11-0 win.
Danielle LeBlanc (Templeton, Mass.) picked up the win for the Sharks, giving up four hits and recording three strikeouts, while Muhlenforth took the loss for the Mustangs.
The Mustangs will return to action tomorrow afternoon at Mount Ida Softball Field when they host Albertus Magnus in a game that was rescheduled from earlier in the season. First pitch of game one is set for 3:00 pm.
Simmons returns to action on Wednesday, Apr. 16 when they host Fenway rival Emmanuel College at 3:00/5:00 PM.