Sparkill, N.Y. - Home runs by Eliana Raposo and Sofia Marella, along with the exceptional pitching of Sarah Clancy, helped to power the St. Thomas Aquinas College Softball team to a dominant 8-0 victory over Mercy University in the first game of an East Coast Conference doubleheader at Spartan Field. The visiting Mavericks returned the favor to earn a split of the day's festivities by taking an 8-3 win in game two.
STAC moves to 12-12 overall and 1-1 in ECC play on the season, while Mercy goes to 9-9 and 3-1.
In addition to grabbing their first conference victory of the campaign, the Spartans helped their head coach reach the record books once again, as Kristen Sullivan joined the prestigious 300-Win Club. Following her stellar four-year playing career in Sparkill, Sullivan returned to serve as head coach, co-head coach and assistant coach from 1991-98 and 2011-2014 before beginning her current term of service in 2015. She was named as the CACC Coach of the Year in 1998 and is a three-time ECC Coach of the Year (2024, 2023, 2022).
On the field, the maroon and gold opened game one in fine fashion as Eliana Raposo drove a Mercy pitch deep to left-center field to give STAC a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Jessica Feerick's RBI double to center field, which scored Adriana Coira and Elyse Marcano's bases loaded RBI sac-fly, plating Feerick pushed the Spartans advantage to 3-0 through two innings of play.
Sofia Marella played a major factor in STAC's remaining scoring plays, as first Marella would reach base on an error, allowing Aliya Feerick to make her way home to put the hosts up 4-0 in the fourth. Then, in the sixth inning, Marella would crush a pitch over the center field fence for a grand slam home run to end the game at 8-0.
Starting pitcher Sarah Clancy (W, 6-6) stifled Mercy's offense, only allowing three hits and walk, while striking out three Mavericks hitters to even her record on the year.
The second game of the day saw the visitors put up eight runs on the strength of three RBI singles, two RBI doubles and a pair of homers, while STAC was able to scratch across runs, courtesy of a Sophia Marella RBI single, which scored Maristella Coira in the first inning, an RBI double down the right field line by Jordyn Gautier in the second inning, bringing home Jessica Feerick and a Trinadey Santiago sixth inning solo shot to left-center field.
Madison Puppolo (L, 6-4) got the nod in game two and lasted just three innings. Puppolo surrendered six runs (five earned) on ten hits, with a walk and three strikeouts. Sarah Clancy returned to the circle in relief and allowed two runs on three hits over four innings of work, while fanning six Mavs.
STAC next visits Pace University for a non-conference twin bill on Wednesday, March 26, which gets underway beginning at 2:30 p.m. in Pleasantville, New York.