Fairfield, Conn. (April 9, 2022)--Mount St. Mary's made it 10 wins in a row with a doubleheader sweep at Sacred Heart on Saturday.  After posting an 8-0 win in six innings in the opening game, the Mount outlasted the Pioneers 6-5 in 10 innings in an exciting matchup in game two to earn the sweep.  The Mountaineers improve to 17-14 overall and 9-2 in Northeast Conference play.
 
In the opening game, the Mount rolled to an 8-0 win over the Pioneers in six innings.  Kaia Bonshock's three-run homer in the top of third inning propelled the Mount to the lead. 

After a pair of scoreless innings, the Mount broke out to the lead with three runs in the top of the third.  Zoe Wilcox walked, moved to second on a Mariah Godde sacrifice, and Abigayle Perry walked to put two runners on base.  Bridgette Gilliano advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt to set the table for Bonshock, who drilled a three-run homer off the scoreboard in center field. 

Mount St. Mary's took control of the game with four runs in the top of the fifth inning.  Godde doubled with one out with Perry hit by a pitch to put two runners on base.  A wild pitch moved the runners up, and Gilliano brought home Godde with a bunt single on a squeeze play with Gilliano advancing to second to put two runners in scoring position.  Sacred Heart's catcher tried to get a pickoff of Perry at third base, but the throw went into the outfield with both runners scoring for a 6-0 lead.  Tori Bowles singled and scored the fourth run of the frame on an Elizabeth King double.  

The Mount clinched the win with a run in the top of the sixth.  Vanessa Martin walked, stole second, moved to third on a Wilcox sacrifice, and scored on a Godde sacrifice fly.
 
Starting pitcher Amanda Berkley turned in a terrific start, scattering four hits while striking out three in five shutout innings.  Olivia Murphy closed out the game with a scoreless sixth.

The Mountaineers outlasted Sacred Heart, 6-5, in 10 innings in an exciting second game of the doubleheader.  Perry's RBI triple in the top of the 10th inning provided the winning runs.  Avery Neuhart pitched five innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory.

The Mount took an early 1-0 advantage on a King RBI double in the top of the first inning.  The PIoneers struck back for three runs in the bottom of the first off Mount starter Murphy.  Alyssa Gonzalez provided the big hit, a two-run homer that put Sacred Heart ahead, 3-1.  Mount St. Mary's used its speed to even the score with a pair of runs in the third inning.  Perry led off with a single and stole second base.  Gilliano followed with an RBI single to plate Perry to cut the deficit to 3-2.  Gilliano advanced to third on the throw to the plate, and she then tied the score with a straight steal of home with her team-leading 25th stolen base of the season.

In the top of the fifth, the Mount struck for a pair of runs to take a 5-3 lead.  Bonshock singled ahead of a Bowles double that put runners on second and third.  King followed with an RBI double to break the tie and give the Mount the lead, and Martin's RBI single put the Mount ahead by a pair of runs.  Sacred Heart (7-26, 2-8 NEC) answered back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 5-5.

The pitchers took control at that point with Neuhart coming on in the top of the sixth and Sarah Lawton for Sacred Heart in the bottom of the inning.  The two relievers kept the score at 5-5 until the top of the 10th inning.  The tiebreaker rule came into play in the top of the 10th with Wilcox being placed on second to start the frame.  After an out was recorded, Perry put the Mount on top with a triple that scored Wilcox with what proved to be the winning run.

In the bottom of the 10th, the Mount nearly ended the game with a triple play.  With runners on first and second, a grounder to third saw Maggie Kane touch third and throw to second for the second out.  The throw to first was just late, but Neuhart struck out the final batter to secure the win.

King and Bowles each had three hits for the Mount in the win while Bonshock and Perry each had a pair of hits.  Murphy allowed five runs (three earned) in the start with Neuhart picking up the win with five innings of scoreless relief, allowing just three hits while striking out a pair.

The teams close out the three-game series tomorrow with a single game at noon.