Myrtle Beach, SC - Just 24 hours after sweeping Lehman College to open the 2023 season, the College of Mount Saint Vincent's softball team touched down in Myrtle Beach, competing in a week-long string of games over Spring Break. The action kicked off on Sunday against the University of Maine-Farmington and SUNY Poly, with the Dolphins defeating the Beavers in game one before falling short to the Wildcats in game two.
The Dolphins and Beavers was the definition of a pitcher's duel. The first run of the contest was scored in the fifth, with junior hurler
Charlotte Kelly a highlight for the Dolphins. The Newburgh, New York native went five strong innings in her second appearance this season, allowing just one run on three hits to go along with four strikeouts. Freshman
Mila Gutierrez would eventually pick up the win for CMSV after throwing three shutout innings to close out the game in extras.
The Dolphins had a strong opportunity to get on the board in the fifth inning, when the offense had the bases loaded with no out. Despite not plating a run at that point, CMSV stayed strong, responding in the bottom of the sixth while trailing by three. It was at that point when
Jocelyn Vega and
Katie Hutter hit back-to-back doubles to put the Dolphins on the board. Both
Sabrina Colon and
Serena Duran would reach base, and freshman
Simone Caruso had a productive groundout that drove in Colon to make it 3-2 Beavers.
With two outs in the seventh, head coach Kevin Carbob's squad would put together a rally to tie things up. After freshman
Madyson Epps singled to keep the game alive, Vega clubbed a triple to right field to drive in Epps and force extra innings. After Gutierrez kept the Beavers in check in the top half of the eighth, junior
Shaniya Serrano would drive in the game winning run with a single to left field.
Like game one, game two was also showcased by pitchers. Duran received her first start as a Dolphin and went the distance, as she gave up just two runs (one earned) one two hits. The lone run on CMSV's side of the game came when freshman
Emma Capozucca reached first on an error, which eventually brought sophomore
Kelly Murphy across home plate.
Now 3-1 to start the season, the Dolphins look forward to Monday when they take on SUNY Cortland and Mansfield University.