DeLand, Fla. - The Stetson softball team (10-2) racked up 15 runs in a doubleheader sweep of visiting Mount St. Mary's (2-6) Thursday at Patricia Wilson Field, defeating the Mountaineers 7-1 and 8-0 in five innings. Senior shortstop Chelsey Trotto (Lantana, Fla.) had four hits and her third home run of the season on the day while freshman pitcher Courtney Brandt (Dade City, Fla.) tossed a two-hit shutout in the nightcap.
STETSON 7, MOUNT ST. MARY'S 1 (GAME 1)
The Hatters struck first for a run in the bottom of the first inning in the opener without needing a base hit. Two leadoff walks and an illegal pitch led to freshman third baseman Demi Meza (Oxnard, Calif.) laying down an RBI squeeze bunt to bring in sophomore center fielder Chrissy Morello (Ormond Beach, Fla.) from third base.
Sophomore pitcher Meredith Owen (Jackson, Miss.) added to Stetson's advantage with an RBI sacrifice fly in the third that was immediately followed by a Trotto two-run single to right to make it 4-0 Hatters. An unearned run in the top of the fourth briefly brought the Mountaineers back into the game, but Stetson put the game away with insurance runs in its next two trips to the plate. Junior catcher Jordan Cleghorn (Ball Ground, Ga.) followed junior right fielder Chelsea Whalley's (Calgary, Alta.) leadoff double in the fourth with an RBI single while senior first baseman Carolyn Boyd (Germantown, Tenn.) hit an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth. A passed ball scored Stetson's sixth and final run later in that frame.
Owen allowed just the single unearned run on six hits and one walk in a complete game effort to improve to 4-1 on the season. She struck out six batters. Trotto and Whalley each had two hits and a stolen base in the opener while Morello stole a base as well.
Hayley Stankan took the loss in the circle for the Mount; first baseman Alyssa Silipino led their offense with two hits.
STETSON 8, MOUNT ST. MARY'S 0 (5 INNINGS) (GAME 2)
Brandt's domination of the Mountaineers was the story of Game 2 of the doubleheader as she tossed a two-hit shutout with seven strikeouts and only two walks in five innings. The run-rule victory was the third of the season for Stetson as well as her third shutout of the season and second against the Mount in as many starts.
The Hatters set the tone right from the start with four first inning runs off starter Amanda Sadowl. Meza put down an excellent squeeze bunt as Morello scored from third and beat the throw for a base hit. Following a Trotto single, senior left fielder Brittany Knipp (Land O'Lakes, Fla.) smacked a two-run single into right field and then stole second. That steal allowed her to score on Boyd's RBI single down the right field line for the early 4-0 lead.
Trotto gave Stetson even more breathing room in the bottom of the third when she worked her way back from an 0-2 count to blast Sadowl's 2-2 offering into the last row of the left field bleachers for a two-run home run, her third of the season and fifth of her career. Knipp and Boyd delivered back-to-back RBI singles again in the fourth to make it 8-0 and trigger the run rule when Brandt held Mount St. Mary's scoreless in the top of the fifth.
Knipp drove in a career-high three runs and stole two bases for the Hatters, who also got two-hit nights from Boyd and Trotto. Morello, Meza and Trotto also recorded stolen bases for Stetson in the nightcap.
Stetson plays four games in three days this weekend at the UCF & Holiday Inn Select Spring Fling in Orlando, Fla. The Hatters face the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) at 3:00 pm Friday, take on Penn and host UCF at 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm Saturday, then tangle with UIC again at 11:00 am Sunday. Live Stats will be available at GoHatters.com as will online radio broadcasts through Hatter Vision.
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