DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – Continuing their road stretch, the Queens College softball team traveled to Smith Field Friday afternoon for an East Coast Conference doubleheader against the Mercy University Mavericks.
Powered by a 16-hit offensive performance in game one, Queens secured an 8-4 victory behind a complete-game effort from rookie
Nellie Donahue (Levittown, N.Y.). Senior
Allie Parascandola (East Quogue, N.Y.) and junior
Kadie Cain (Hauppauge, N.Y.) combined for five RBI to lead the attack. In the nightcap, the Knights came up short in extra innings, falling 4-3 on a walk-off.
With the split, Queens improves to nine wins overall and three in ECC play, remaining in the hunt for a postseason spot with eight games to go.
Game One Recap – Queens 8, Mercy 4
Mercy struck first with a run in the opening inning, but Queens quickly answered in the second.
After back-to-back walks from junior
Olivia Wanser (Westbury, N.Y.) and rookie
Kayla Denino (North Babylon, N.Y.), sophomore
Brigid Hood (Wantagh, N.Y.) loaded the bases with a single. Rookie
Brooke Waiting (Seaford, N.Y.) brought in the tying run with a sacrifice fly before junior
Senino Denino (North Babylon, N.Y.) followed with an RBI single to give Queens a 2-1 lead. Parascandola extended the advantage with a two-run single, making it 4-1.
Donahue settled in from there, striking out the side in the second and working around traffic in the third to maintain the lead.
Cain added an RBI single in the fourth, and Parascandola recorded her third RBI of the game in the fifth to push the lead to 6-1. Queens tacked on two more runs in the seventh on RBI singles from Cain and Wanser for an 8-1 cushion.
Mercy threatened in the final frame, but Donahue closed out the complete-game performance to earn her team-leading sixth win.
Game Two Recap – Queens 3, Mercy 4
Queens jumped out to an early lead in the nightcap, as rookies
Kayla Denino (North Babylon, N.Y.) and
Carla Chiaramonte (Middle Village, N.Y.) helped stake the Knights to a 2-0 advantage.
Mercy responded with a run in the second, but Chiaramonte added an RBI on a fielder's choice in the third to restore a two-run lead at 3-1, marking her third multi-RBI game of the season.
The Mavericks chipped away with a run in the fifth and tied the game in the sixth to force extra innings.
For the second time this season, Mercy delivered in extras, scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth to secure the 4-3 walk-off victory and split the doubleheader.
Next Pitch
Queens heads to Buffalo, N.Y. for a pivotal ECC doubleheader against D'Youville University Saints. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
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