Photo Courtesy: Keith Graham
BENNINGTON, Vt. - The Southern Vermont College softball team hosted Fisher College of Boston, Mass. Wednesday in a non-conference doubleheader winning game one 11-10 while losing game two 13-5. Alyssa Davis had an amazing performance finishing 6-for-7 from the plate with an RBI and two triples. Bennington native Kayla Whitman had two home runs knocking in five runs as well to help push the Mountaineers to their second victory this season.
In game one the Falcons (12-20) took advantage of several Mountaineers (2-13) errors taking a 2-0 lead after one inning of play. A scoreless second inning for both squads and Fisher tagged on three more runs to make 5-0. Jessica Augusta had an RBI single and several Southern Vermont errors gave the Falcons a five run cushion going into the bottom of the third.
SVC took a few innings to warm up but in the third had monster eight run inning giving the Mountaineers an 8-5 lead. Tiarra Hall started off the inning with a single. Leigh Meola got on with an error by the Falcons third baseman which led to the next batter Whitman that crushed the ball past the centerfielder for a inside-the-park homerun. After singles from Amy Balawender and Davis; Cala Colvin loaded the bases reaching on an error by Fisher. Marian Mangiapane stepped up to the plate and cracked an RBI single to extend the Southern Vermont run. Jasmine Martin and Alish Ryan reached on an error and a single to give SVC two more runs. The 8-5 lead came when Meola cleared the bases with a triple bringing two Mountaineers home safely.
In the forth Fisher's Jackie Streeter scored on a groundout by Courtney Golloto as the Falcons began to chip away at the Mountaineer lead now 8-6. With runners in scoring position Mangiapane ground out to the short stop and Balawender scored making it 9-6 in SVC's favor.
In the fifth inning the Falcons tacked on one more run to make it 9-7 when Shayra McMenamy scored on a Mountaineers error. An inning of scoreless ball and Southern Vermont was back at it with a two run sixth inning. Colvin hit an RBI single scoring Balawender and Mangiapane singled scoring Colvin to give SVC an 11-7 lead heading into the final inning.
Fisher packed a few more punches but SVC prevailed only giving up three runs in the seventh to win game one 11-10. Davis led the Mountaineers from the plate batting 4-for-4 and scoring two runs. Mangiapane and Balawender each had two hits as the Mountaineers tallied 13 total hits.
Southern Vermont struggled defensively making eight errors in the game but pitcher Danielle Tischer (Salem, Conn.) got the complete game win striking out two and giving up five earned runs in a strong performance. Streeter went 4-for-5 with an RBI and scored three runs for the Falcons.
In game two a six run first inning for the Falcons and eight SVC errors contributed to the 13-5 loss. Southern Vermont got on the board in the first inning when Davis stroked a triple to centerfield to make it 6-1 after one. Michelle Oliverio singled in Augusta in the second inning but the Mountaineers Meola singled in Mangiapane to keep SVC within five (7-2) heading into the third.
Fisher left two stranded and Southern Vermont's Mangiapane crushed an RBI single to make it 7-3 heading into the fourth inning. Libby Whitcomb cleared the bases on a triple and four errors by the Mountaineers in the fourth gave Fisher a 13-3 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth. SVC tacked on two more with a two run in-the-park home run by Whitman but could not close the eight run gap as the Falcons took the second game.
Davis and Mangiapane each had two hits and an RBI for Southern Vermont while all but one Mountaineer starter had a hit. Debbie Fuller, Streeter, and Oliverio each went 2-for-4 in the win. Streeter picked up the victory from the mound while striking out six and walking two. Tischer (2-10) got the loss as she struck out two and walked one.