Lady Mounties top Mercyhurst, 7-1
Melanie Taylor dropped an infield single in the perfect spot and Laura Lawson slid under the tag to lift Mansfield to a 6-5 walk-off win over Mercyhurst and cap a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh in PSAC crossover action on Tuesday.
The Mounties cruised to a 7-1 win in the opener behind Ari Young’s 10th win of the season.
In game one, Taylor Chidester opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, driving in a run before Kayla Hahn singled to the gap to score two more runs and give the Mounties a 3-0 lead.
After two scoreless innings, Deshae Jones put another run on the board for Mansfield with an RBI double to left center.
Mercyhurst got one back in the sixth, but an RBI double by Koryn Wickwire and a Laura Lawson two-run home run extended the Mansfield lead to 7-1.
Arianna Young became the 14th player in program history to win double-figure games in a season with her 10th victory in the circle. Young scattered seven hits and allowed just one earned run in the complete game effort. She was efficient in her work, using just 69 pitches to earn the win.
The Mountaineer defense turned a season-high three double plays in game one.
Mercyhurst took a big lead in the top of the first inning of game two, plating five runs on three hits and two errors. Lawson got aboard with a single in the bottom of the inning but Mansfield could not counter the Lakers’ offense.
Both sides went hitless through the next two innings until a Taylor single into the gap scored Lawson and Koryn Wickwire to cut the deficit to 5-2.
After two more scoreless innings, Mansfield trailed by three runs entering final at bats. Dehsae Jones, Alli McGovern and Wickwire each hit singles to load the bases with no outs. Lawson hit an RBI single into right field to bring in the first run before Rachael Sterner doubled to right center to score two more and tie the game at 5-5.
With runners on second and third, Taylor dropped a ball just beyond the reach of the pitcher allowing Lawson to speed down the base path and under the glove of the Mercyhurst catcher to complete the seventh inning rally.
Connor Decker earned the win in relief, pitching the final inning. Starting pitcher Brooke Roys threw the opening 2.2 innings before Sierra Storm came on to pitch 3.1 innings of no-hit softball.
The two victories give the Mountaineers their most wins since recording 24 during the 2014 season when the team earned the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth.
Mansfield returns to PSAC Central action with games at IUP on Friday and Pitt-Johnstown Saturday.
Credits:
Videography: Cody Getz, Kaitlyn Callahan
Video Editing: Cody Getz
Writing: Mansfield University
Anchor: Brady Connolly
Correspondent: Sam Moss
Produced by Vogt Media
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