CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Lesley University softball team swept visiting Southern Vermont College in a doubleheader at Buckingham Field in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play this afternoon. The Lynx took a 5-3 decision in game one before sophomore hurler Jordan Thomas (Fitchburg, Mass.) twirled her first career no-hitter in an 8-0 decision in five innings in game two.
With the pair of wins, the Lynx improve to 9-12 on the season and a perfect 8-0 in NECC play while the Mountaineers drop to 4-12 overall and an even 2-2 in conference action.
Game One: Lesley 5, SVC 3
The Lynx opened the scoring in the bottom half of the first inning in game one. After Allison Fountain (Cheshire, Conn.) and Mekenzi Golden (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) both reached with singles, senior Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.) sent a single of her own to left bringing Fountain across the plate. Golden also scored on the play on an errant throw to give Lesley a 2-0 lead.
Southern Vermont cut the lead in half in the next inning when freshman Mallory Celeste (Gansevoort, N.Y.) blasted her second home run of the season over the left field fence.
The Mountaineers would grab their first lead with a pair of runs in the third. Emily Fleming (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and Erika Garay (Walnut, Calif.) both reach with singles and moved into scoring position on a pass ball with one out. Sophomore Rachel Robtoy (Baltic, Conn.) drove in the first run of the inning with a sacrifice-fly to right field before first year Lauryn Zovistoski (Granville, N.Y.) singled in the go-ahead run with a ball drilled down the left field line.
The score would remain unchanged until the Lynx put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth. Golden started the offense in the inning with a wall-ball double to left field before scoring on a Mercurio single. Mercurio would advance to third on an error on the throw to home. Junior Jodee Doka (Sacramento, Calif.) kept the line moving with an RBI single of her own before sophomore Angela Mukai (Amherst, N.H.) belted a double into the left-center gap to plate Lesley's third run of the inning, as the Lynx reclaimed a 5-3 advantage.
Lesley starter Alyson Nisbet (Clovis, Calif.) allowed just one hit and the minimum nine batters in the final three innings of the play to earn her fifth win of the season.
Golden, Mercurio, and Doka all finished with two hits for the Lynx, while Fountain finished 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Garay led the Mountaineers attack from the top of the lineup, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored while Fleming also finished with two hits and a run.
Game Two: Lesley 8, SVC 0 – Five Innings
Thomas led the Lynx in game two with five fantastic innings of no-hit ball. The lefty walked just one, struck out three, and retired the final eight Southern Vermont batters in order to pick up her fourth win of the season.
After scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning, the Lynx doubled their lead with two more in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore Jess Reynolds (Londonderry, N.H.) sparked the two-out rally with a walk before moving to second when senior Sarah Apgar (Andover, N.J.) sent a single through the left side. Both runners would score a batter later when a ball hit by senior Maria Nazzaro (North Reading, Mass.) was misplayed in the outfield as the Lynx pushed their cushion to 4-0.
Golden kept her hot bat going as she led off the top of the fifth with her fourth home run of the season, a high-arcing blast over the left field fence. Lesley fed off the momentum as Doka laced a one-out double and moved to third on a single to left from Mukai. Reynolds then picked up her first RBI of the day with a ground-rule double to left-center to extend the lead to 6-0. Mukai and Reynolds would both score later in the inning on a pair of pass balls that iced the 8-0 mercy rule win.
Golden paced the offensive attack as she finished 2-for-3 with a triple, home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. Reynolds went 1-for-2 with a double, RBI, and two runs scored while Fountain picked up a hit and a runs scored in the win.
The Lynx will return to NECC action tomorrow when they travel to Wheelock College for a doubleheader starting at 3:30p. The games will be played on the campus of Pine Manor College. Southern Vermont will also be in conference play tomorrow when they travel to Newbury College for a pair of games starting at 11:00a.