Softball Wraps Spring Break Road Trip With Sweep

MELBOURNE, Fla. – The MCLA Softball team wrapped up their annual spring break road trip at the USSSA Space Coast Spring Games today with games against Western University and St. Norbert College. The Trailblazers matched up with opponents from earlier in the week, looking for revenge before their flight home.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
• Game #1: WestConn 4, MCLA 5
• Records: Western Connecticut State University Wolves 3-4 (LEC 0-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 3-6 (MASCAC 0-0)
• Series History: WestConn leads the all-time series 8-7, including an 8-1 win on Saturday at the Space Coast Spring Games. MCLA won the first-ever meeting of the team 4-3 on May 15, 1994, in the quarter final round of the ECAC DIII tournament.
• Game #2: MCLA 12, Rutgers-Newark 4
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 4-6 (MASCAC 0-0) | Rutgers-Newark University Scarlett Raiders 1-5 (NJAC 0-0)
• Series History: Rutgers-Newark leads the all-time series 3-3, including a 12-11 win by Rutgers-Newark on Monday at the Space Coast Spring Games. The Scarlet Raiders also won the first ever-meeting of the teams, 4-3 on March 16, 2009.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Game #1
  • Western Connecticut plated the first run of the game, taking advantage of an error by the Trailblazers for an early 1-0 lead.
  • The Trailblazers matched the run in the bottom of the inning after junior Ella Staffier (Marshfield, MA) stole her way around the bases, capping it off by stealing home as part of a double steal with junior Maggie Closinski (Rome, NY).
  • The Wolves scored two more runs in the top of the third on an RBI single by Sera DeBaggis that scored Jaycee Filancia and Benni Tucci.
  • MCLA again leveled the score in the bottom of the frame. Junior Hailey Peabody (W. Springfield, MA) and Ella Staffier (Marshfield, MA) both singled to put runners on first and second for graduate student Maddy Teta (Troy, NY) to plate with a double.
  • WestConn again found a way to get the lead, adding a run on an RBI triple by Filancia.
  • The Trailblazers took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth. Senior Madyson Torres (Dripping Springs, TX) led off the inning with a double before giving way to sophomore Hannah Mitchem (Baltimore, MD) as a pinch runner. Two batters later junior Alexandra Espel (Acra, NY) tripled Mitchem home, and then followed her home on an RBI ground out by senior Ezmeralda Albright (Loves Park, IL).
  • Sophomore pitcher Julia Johansen (Pittsfield, MA) slammed the door for MCLA in the seventh after allowing runners to reach second and third by inducing a pair of flyballs to close out a complete game, improving to 2-2.
• Game #2
  • The Trailblazers scored first in the second game of the day, Teta knocked home Peabody for the RBI.
  • Rutgers-Newark responded in the bottom of the second with an RBI single by Alison Miller scoring Kayla Cardozo.
  • In the top of the third, MCLA responded with three runs on an two-RBI single to center by Espel and another RBI single to center by Albright.
  • A four-run fourth inning pushed their lead to 8-1. First-year Allee George (Bennington, VT) knocked home the first two runs with a single to right. Teta then scored on a delayed steal when George thieved second. Three batters later George scored on an RBI groundout by Espel.
  • The Scarlett Raiders scratched back a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning by stringing together three singles by Cardozo, Gabriela Forese, and Miller. Three batters later, Forese scored on a sac fly Mariah Rimas-McManus.
  • In the sixth inning, the Trailblazers brought out their scoring shoes again, adding four runs to stretch the lead to 12-3. Teta led off with a single through the right side and then stole second. George then reached on a single to second to that moved Teta to third before she scored when the second baseman's throw was wide of the mark. Three batters later Espel singled to left to score sophomore Samantha Wheeler (Agawam, MA) and Torres. Espel later came in with the 12^th run on a passed ball.
  • The bottom of the sixth saw Rutgers got one run back on an RBI double by Rimas-McManus.
  • Peabody threw a complete game, scattering nine hits and striking out three, moving her record to 2-3.

UP NEXT:

Next Thursday, MCLA will be back in action when it plays host to Elms College to Shewcraft Field for a non-conference matchup with the Mascot. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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