'Cats Swept by Mustangs in Newton

NEWTON, Mass. --  Freshman Caitlin Hogan (Derry, N.H.) rapped out three hits and drove in six runs to lead Mount Ida to a sweep of a Great Northeast Athletic Conference softball doubleheader from Anna Maria by scores of 6-1 in the opener and 8-0 in the five inning nightcap in games played Saturday afternoon at the Mount Ida Softball Field.

The host Mustangs (6-12, 4-4 GNAC) jumped out to a 2-0 third inning lead in the lid-lifter on RBI singles by Hogan and freshman Savannah Neilan (Somerset, Mass.), and after the visiting Amcats (0-18, 0-10 GNAC) sliced their deficit in half in the fourth on junior Sabrina Carreira's (West Hartford, Conn.) run-scoring single, Mount Ida took control of the contest in the bottom of the frame on Hogan's three-run triple.  An RBI groundout by freshman Shelby Nolan (Ansonia, Conn.) closed out the scoring for the Mustangs in the bottom of the sixth, as Hogan, junior Jenni Jackson (Marlboro, Mass.) and sophomore Alisa Benson (Middletown, R.I.) collected two hits each as part of a nine-hit attack for the winners.

Senior Jacqueline Lapierre (Worcester, Mass.) rapped out two of Anna Maria's four hits in the opener, as freshmanCarrigan Costello (Wolcott, Conn.) went the distance and struck out five to earn her second victory of the season inside the circle for Mount Ida.  Junior Victoria Falco (Marlboro, Mass.) fanned one in tossing a complete-game effort in the first setback for the Amcats, who also received a hit off the bat of freshman Allison Sholds (Methuen, Mass.).

The Mustangs got all of the runs they would need in the second inning of the nightcap on Benson's RBI single and a two-run error, and Mount Ida closed out the scoring with a five-run fourth inning rally highlighted by Hogan's two-run double, Neilan's run scoring groundout and a wild pitch.  Freshman Madeleine Smith (San Diego, Calif.), who also drove in a run as part of the fourth inning uprising, tossed her second straight one-hitter and struck out seven over the first four innings to pick up her third triumph of the spring for the hosts, and she and Benson each had two hits in the second contest.  Falco accounted for the lone Anna Maria hit of the nightcap with a two-out fourth inning single, as she suffered the setback inside the circle for the Amcats.

Mount Ida hosts Saint Joseph (Conn.) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at the Mount Ida Softball Field beginning at Noon, while Anna Maria heads to Auburndale, Mass. on Sunday afternoon to square off with Lasell in a GNAC twinbill that also begins at Noon.