Mar 4, 2008

Mariners Nab First Win of 2008

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The United States Merchant Marine Academy softball team continued to improve with every contest and split a pair of games in Kissimmee, Fla. on Monday morning. The squad lost its opening game by an 8-3 score to Aurora, the reigning champion of the Northern Athletics Conference. In game two, the Mariners defeated Misericordia by a score of 7-3. Misericordia won the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament last spring. The Misericordia game also marked the first win for Cassie Arroyo as the head coach of the Mariners. USMMA is now 1-3 overall.

In the win over Misericordia, Jesselyn LaValley was a perfect 3-for-3 with two triples, one double and two RBI. Kaitlyn Robbins was a perfect 2-for-2 and drove in three Mariner runs. Jen Swanson was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a run batted in. Misericordia's five hits were distributed by five different players. Gina Jorgensen hit a double which drove in two runs for the Cougars.

Misericordia got on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. Lindsay Miller led off the game with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Courtney Novajosky. Miller advanced to third on a wild pitch and was plated by Sarnak, who flied out to Cheyanne Loppnow in center field. Hoskins grounded out to Robbins at short on the very next play to end the inning.

USMMA was able to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning. LaValley tripled to start the inning and was plated by Robbins who hit a sacrifice fly to right field. It was Robbins' first career run batted in. The next two Mariners grounded out to end the inning.

The Mariners took their first lead a few innings later in the bottom of the fourth. Swanson led off the inning with a single and LaValley followed up with a double. Batting with two runners in scoring position, Robbins initially reached first on an error by shortstop Nicole Wenner. She was then thrown out at first. LaValley tried to advance to third and got caught in a pickle. She was eventually tagged by Hoskins at third. Meanwhile, Swanson scored the go-ahead run and Robbins was credited with her second RBI of the game. With the bases empty, Loppnow popped out to second to end the inning.

After LaValley retired the side, USMMA scored five runs to take a commanding 7-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Marjorie Marino led off the inning with a double. Stephanie Dawber came up next and singled in Marino. It was Dawber's first career RBI. Dawber then stole second and reached third on an error by catcher Kristen Peters. After two Mariners fanned, the bats got hot. Brittany Thornhill was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners for Swanson. The junior singled in Dawber which advanced Thornhill to second. LaValley then tripled to score Thornhill and Swanson to give the Mariners a 6-1 lead. Robbins then singled in LaValley to give USMMA a six-run advantage. Loppnow grounded out to the pitcher on the next play to end the five-run inning.

Misericordia got two more runs which were unearned in the top of the sixth and threatened to score in the top of the seventh. However, LaValley got out of both jams and the Mariners held on for their first win of the 2008 season.

Jesselyn LaValley of USMMA threw all seven innings and surrendered just five hits and one earned run. She also fanned six batters and was credited with the win. Katherine Lucenti pitched five innings for Misericordia and allowed nine hits. All seven runs she allowed were earned and she was credited with the loss. Alissa Popalis pitched the last inning and struck out two batters.

In the earlier loss to Aurora, the Mariners were led by Karen Taylor, LaValley, Robbins and Marino. Taylor was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. LaValley added another RBI in this contest and went 2-for-3. Robbins was 1-for-3 and recorded her first career RBI while Marino was 1-for-2 and drove in a run. Aurora was led by Nikki Veen, who went 4-for-5 with a RBI. Dana Cebular added two hits and two RBI.

USMMA got on the scoreboard first and had a 1-0 lead after the top half of the first inning. Taylor singled to start off the game and was sacrificed over to second by Thornhill. The junior advanced to third when Swanson grounded out to pitcher Mary Pat Cummings. LaValley singled Taylor home for the first run of the game. Robbins ended the inning when she flew out to center field.

Aurora took its first lead of the game by scoring three runs in the bottom of the second. Shannon Starr led off with a single to right field and advanced to second on a passed ball. Bethany Okrie singled her in and stole second on the next play. After Jamie Mueller popped out to LaValley at first base, Abby Peters walked and Lisa Liace came in to pinch run for her. Karisa Hansen popped to Robbins at short for the inning's second out, Cebular singled in Liace which scored Okrie. Veen then singled in Liace to give the Spartans a 3-1 lead. Taylor got out of the jam when Abby Young grounded out to LaValley.

USMMA battled back to tie the game up at 3-3 in the top of the third inning. Taylor singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a Thornhill sacrifice to third. Swanson then singled which advanced Taylor to third and stole second base, putting two runners in scoring position. LaValley was then walked by Cummings to load the bases and Robbins made her pay with a RBI single. Loppnow popped to first for the inning's second out, but the Mariners scored again when Marino walked to force in Swanson. Dawber was caught looking to end the inning. Aurora tacked on five more runs to eventually put the game away in the bottom of the fourth. Hansen tripled to right field and was singled in by Cebular for the inning's first run. After that, Aurora used small ball and took advantage of a Mariner error to plate another four runners. Three of the five runs surrendered by Taylor were unearned.

Karen Taylor of USMMA was credited with the loss and fell to 0-2 overall. She gave up five earned runs in four innings. She was relieved by Marjorie Marino, who didn't give up any runs over the final two innings. Mary Pat Cummings of Aurora was credited with the win. She gave up three earned runs and eight hits while striking out six.

The schedule does not get any easier for the Mariners on Tuesday. USMMA opens at 9 a.m. against No. 2 nationally-ranked Wartburg of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. It will mark the third straight game the Mariners will play against a conference champion from last spring. Wartburg is ranked second in the country behind Linfield, the 2007 NCAA National Champions.

Afterwards, the club will play Wittenberg, which was picked to finish second in the Northern Collegiate Athletic Conference after posting a 27-13 record overall last spring. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.


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The Misericordia game also marked the first win for Cassie Arroyo as the head coach of the Mariners. USMMA is now 1-3 overall. In the win over Misericordia, Jesselyn LaValley was a perfect 3-for-3 with two triples, one double and two RBI. Kaitlyn Robbins was a perfect 2-for-2 and drove in three Mariner runs. Jen Swanson was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a run batted in. Misericordia's five hits were distributed by five different players. Gina Jorgensen hit a double which drove in two runs for the Cougars. Misericordia got on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. Lindsay Miller led off the game with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Courtney Novajosky. Miller advanced to third on a wild pitch and was plated by Sarnak, who flied out to Cheyanne Loppnow in center field. Hoskins grounded out to Robbins at short on the very next play to end the inning. USMMA was able to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning. LaValley tripled to start the inning and was plated by Robbins who hit a sacrifice fly to right field. It was Robbins' first career run batted in. The next two Mariners grounded out to end the inning. The Mariners took their first lead a few innings later in the bottom of the fourth. Swanson led off the inning with a single and LaValley followed up with a double. Batting with two runners in scoring position, Robbins initially reached first on an error by shortstop Nicole Wenner. She was then thrown out at first. LaValley tried to advance to third and got caught in a pickle. She was eventually tagged by Hoskins at third. Meanwhile, Swanson scored the go-ahead run and Robbins was credited with her second RBI of the game. With the bases empty, Loppnow popped out to second to end the inning. After LaValley retired the side, USMMA scored five runs to take a commanding 7-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Marjorie Marino led off the inning with a double. Stephanie Dawber came up next and singled in Marino. It was Dawber's first career RBI. Dawber then stole second and reached third on an error by catcher Kristen Peters. After two Mariners fanned, the bats got hot. Brittany Thornhill was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners for Swanson. The junior singled in Dawber which advanced Thornhill to second. LaValley then tripled to score Thornhill and Swanson to give the Mariners a 6-1 lead. Robbins then singled in LaValley to give USMMA a six-run advantage. Loppnow grounded out to the pitcher on the next play to end the five-run inning. Misericordia got two more runs which were unearned in the top of the sixth and threatened to score in the top of the seventh. However, LaValley got out of both jams and the Mariners held on for their first win of the 2008 season. Jesselyn LaValley of USMMA threw all seven innings and surrendered just five hits and one earned run. She also fanned six batters and was credited with the win. Katherine Lucenti pitched five innings for Misericordia and allowed nine hits. All seven runs she allowed were earned and she was credited with the loss. Alissa Popalis pitched the last inning and struck out two batters. In the earlier loss to Aurora, the Mariners were led by Karen Taylor, LaValley, Robbins and Marino. Taylor was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. LaValley added another RBI in this contest and went 2-for-3. Robbins was 1-for-3 and recorded her first career RBI while Marino was 1-for-2 and drove in a run. Aurora was led by Nikki Veen, who went 4-for-5 with a RBI. Dana Cebular added two hits and two RBI. USMMA got on the scoreboard first and had a 1-0 lead after the top half of the first inning. Taylor singled to start off the game and was sacrificed over to second by Thornhill. The junior advanced to third when Swanson grounded out to pitcher Mary Pat Cummings. LaValley singled Taylor home for the first run of the game. Robbins ended the inning when she flew out to center field. Aurora took its first lead of the game by scoring three runs in the bottom of the second. Shannon Starr led off with a single to right field and advanced to second on a passed ball. Bethany Okrie singled her in and stole second on the next play. After Jamie Mueller popped out to LaValley at first base, Abby Peters walked and Lisa Liace came in to pinch run for her. Karisa Hansen popped to Robbins at short for the inning's second out, Cebular singled in Liace which scored Okrie. Veen then singled in Liace to give the Spartans a 3-1 lead. Taylor got out of the jam when Abby Young grounded out to LaValley. USMMA battled back to tie the game up at 3-3 in the top of the third inning. Taylor singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a Thornhill sacrifice to third. Swanson then singled which advanced Taylor to third and stole second base, putting two runners in scoring position. LaValley was then walked by Cummings to load the bases and Robbins made her pay with a RBI single. Loppnow popped to first for the inning's second out, but the Mariners scored again when Marino walked to force in Swanson. Dawber was caught looking to end the inning. Aurora tacked on five more runs to eventually put the game away in the bottom of the fourth. Hansen tripled to right field and was singled in by Cebular for the inning's first run. After that, Aurora used small ball and took advantage of a Mariner error to plate another four runners. Three of the five runs surrendered by Taylor were unearned. Karen Taylor of USMMA was credited with the loss and fell to 0-2 overall. She gave up five earned runs in four innings. She was relieved by Marjorie Marino, who didn't give up any runs over the final two innings. Mary Pat Cummings of Aurora was credited with the win. She gave up three earned runs and eight hits while striking out six. The schedule does not get any easier for the Mariners on Tuesday. USMMA opens at 9 a.m. against No. 2 nationally-ranked Wartburg of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. It will mark the third straight game the Mariners will play against a conference champion from last spring. Wartburg is ranked second in the country behind Linfield, the 2007 NCAA National Champions. Afterwards, the club will play Wittenberg, which was picked to finish second in the Northern Collegiate Athletic Conference after posting a 27-13 record overall last spring. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.
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