Shippensburg, Pa. (March 8, 2026)--Mount St. Mary's opened Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play with a doubleheader sweep of Merrimack on Sunday afternoon. The Mount took the opening game, 5-2, before posting a shutout, 2-0, in the nightcap. The games were played at Robb Field at Shippensburg University.
Mount St. Mary's 5, Merrimack 2
Tristin Koerner and
Avery Dinges led the Mount to a 5-2 win over Merrimack in the opening game of the doubleheader. Koerner went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and two RBI while Dinges went 2-for-3 with two runs and four stolen bases in the victory.
Emmaleigh Zagrodnicheck scattered seven hits to earn the complete game victory in the circle.
The Warriors (2-9, 0-2 MAAC) scored twice in the top of the first inning on a Lemay Caity two-run double to take the early lead.
Avery Dinges manufactured a run in the bottom of the first to cut the deficit in half. Dinges singled, stole second and third base, and scored on a
Kelsie Bandelow groundout.
Mount St. Mary's (4-12, 2-0 MAAC) took the lead with two runs in the third inning. Dinges reached on an error, and stole second base to start the rally. She then stole third, and Bandelow walked to put runners on the corners. After Bandelow stole second, Koerner tripled to right field to plate both runners for a 3-2 lead.
The Mount added a pair of runs in the fourth for a three-run advantage. After
Lia Festa reached on an error with two outs,
Sharon Manni tripled to make it 4-2. Dinges followed with an RBI base hit to help the Mount to a 5-2 advantage.
Zagrodnicheck took over from there, allowing one hit over the final three innings to secure the win. She struck out a pair while holding the Warriors off the scoreboard over the final six frames to improve to 2-2 on the year.
Mount St. Mary's 2, Merrimack 0
Koerner hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to provide the offense while
Sophia Schmehl tossed a two-hit shutout to lead the Mount to a 2-0 win in the nightcap.
In the first,
Kelsie Bandelow doubled with two outs to set the table for Koerner, who drilled the ball over the right-center field fence for the only runs of the game. That was all Schmehl needed as she kept the Warrior offense at bay to earn the win.
Schmehl had six strikeouts while walking four in the complete-game two-hiiters. The Mount's lone hits of the game were Bandelow's double and Koerner's home run in the bottom of the first. Merrimack's Paulin MacKenzie allowed two hits in a complete-game loss.
Mount St. Mary's is back in action on Wednesday at Towson.
