Host Morrisville State College softball split doubleheader action Sunday afternoon with visiting Wells College, posting a 10-0 victory in the opener before falling 22-15 in an offensive driven second, in North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) action at the Eaton Street Field in Hamilton.
The split lands Morrisville State with a 2-10 overall record, 2-4 conference record. Wells is 4-6 overall, 4-4 in league play.
Morrisville State had the bats rolling from the get-go in the first of the day’s contests, posting two triples, one from lead-off batter Nicole Duchene (Oneida,N.Y.) and another by Eileen Farrell (Johnsonville,N.Y.), to right field to jump out to an early 1-0 lead in just two at bats. Later in the inning, Kayla Walker (Oneida, N.Y.) added a double, driving in another score, before Tori Schultz (Camden, N.Y.) lined up through the center to score the fourth run of the opening inning, giving the Mustangs a 4-0 lead after just one.
In the bottom of the second, Jillian Mosley (Salem, N.J.) shot a bullet up the left line to score two, increasing the Morrisville State lead to 6-0.
The Mustangs kept the bats rolling in the bottom of the fourth, with a lead off single from Jenna D’Ercole (Highland, N.Y.) before Duchene stepped up to the plate and hit her second triple of the game. Farrell and Walker each followed with their own single, posting a combined three RBI’s as Morrisville State collected the 10-0 conference win.
Duchene, Farrell and Walker each went 2-for-3 from the plate, with Walker leading the way with four RBI’s.
D’Ercole collected the win on the mound, throwing four innings and allowing just four hits while striking out seven.
In the second of the day’s double, Wells jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the top of the first, before Mosley stepped up to the plate to send the ball over the center fence for her first collegiate home run, driving in Courtney Purcell (Fabius, N.Y.) who got on base by a single.
Wells College added seven additional scores between the second and third innings, and held Morrisville State scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when Tiffany Burks (Macedon, N.Y.) started the Mustang rally with a line drive double up the center of the field. Duchene followed with a double of her own, and stole home for a score, before Mosley stepped up and shot one to the right field fence to score an in-park home run.
Paige Jerrett (Parish, N.Y.) sent another to center field, but a back handed grab by Vibbard ended the inning.
Wells added five runs in the top of the sixth for the 16-6 lead, but Morrisville State found their offensive niche of the second game, and rallied for an eight run inning cutting the lead to two heading into the top of the seventh.
The Express capitalized off two critical Mustang errors in the seventh and added five additional runs, while forcing a three and out in the bottom of the inning to collect the win.
Mosley led the Morrisville State bats hitting 3-of-4, registering five RBI’s and scoring two.
Burks threw the loss, allowing 17 hits and 14 earned runs, while striking out seven.
Morrisville State returns to the field Tuesday, hosting Cazenovia at 3 p.m.