JWU Softball Swept By Mitchell

New London, Conn. -- The Johnson & Wales University softball team was swept by Mitchell in a non-conference double header on the road on Monday afternoon. Mitchell took a 5-3 win in the opener and completed the sweep with a 15-2 victory in the nightcap.

In the opener, Mitchell took a 4-0 lead after four innings. The Mariners scored one run in the first on a fielding error and then tacked on two more in the third, both of which scored on a double to left field by sophomore Stacey Suplicki (New London, Conn.). Senior Sara Krolikowski (Bristol, Conn.) added an RBI single in the fourth give the Mariners the four run cushion. Johnson & Wales got on the board in the sixth, plating three runs and cutting the deficit to 4-3. The first run scored on a sacrifice fly by Amy Fish (Oxford, Mass.), and senior Ashley Mata (Wheeling, Ill.) followed with an RBI single up the middle. The final run of the frame scored on a single to right by Rachel Marino (Northbridge, Mass.). Mitchell added an insurance run in the seventh, as freshman Meghan Burke (Bronx, N.Y.) led off with a triple and later scored on a throwing error. Marino allowed five runs on eight hits while striking out five over seven innings in the loss for JWU. She also finished 2-for-3 with an RBI at the plate.

In the nightcap, Mitchell fell behind 2-0 in the first inning but rallied back for five runs in the third to take the lead for good. The Mariners added two more runs in the fourth before breaking the game open with an eight-run fifth, including a grand slam by senior Michele Anderson (Scotland, Conn.). Krolikowski went 1-for-2 with three RBI in the game while sophomore Brittany Zaccaria (White Plains, N.Y.) had two hits and a pair of RBI. Sophomore Holliann Barry (Newburgh, N.Y.) had two of the Wildcats' five hits in the game and scored a run in the first on a wild pitch.

With the two losses Johnson & Wales is now 3-19 overall while Mitchell improves to 7-5 for the season. The Wildcats will return to action on Tuesday, April 6th when they host St. Joseph's of Connecticut for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest starting at 3:00 p.m.