Softball opens 2022 campaign in Florida

LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Mount Mercy softball team opened a new season this week in the Sunshine State with four games against Webber International and Southeastern. The Mustangs dropped both doubleheaders, falling to the Warriors on Wednesday, 3-2 (8 inn.) and 4-1, and losing to the Fire, 8-0 (6 inn.) and 8-0 (5 inn.) on Thursday.

The season opener at Webber International featured Jayna Witzany against the Warriors' Jenna Chaudoin. Mount Mercy led twice before falling in extra innings. Witzany went five innings, allowing two hits and an earned run while striking out eight and walking two. Six walks doomed Brooke Lawson (0-1), who suffered the loss despite not allowing a hit in 2-2/3 innings. Chaudoin (1-0) and Morgan Mills limited the Mustangs to five hits, one each for Sam Lee, Natalie Tecklenburg, Alyssa Niketopolous, Jade Sharp, and Keily Ulatowski. Lee and Niketopolous drove in the Mount Mercy runs in the opener.

Webber International scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning and never trailed in the 4-1 win. Sharp went 2-for-3 with a run batted in while Lee, Tecklenburg, Michelle Mack, and Raquel Trolliet each collected a hit for the Mustangs. Kalli Minger (0-1) scattered nine hits while surrendering four earned runs, striking out two, and walking three. Annie Thomas pitched a scoreless inning in relief.

A six-run fifth inning doomed Mount Mercy in Thursday's opener against the Fire. Southeastern's Erica Stahl homered in the bottom of the first to give the Fire an early lead, then three errors by the Mustangs in the fifth led to six unearned runs off Witzany (0-1) and Thomas. Mount Mercy could only muster three hits, with those coming from Lee, Ulatowski, and Allie Poston.

Southeastern got six runs in the first two innings and cruised again in game two. Lawson (0-2) allowed five earned runs on seven hits in 1-1/3 innings and Minger gave up three hits and one earned run over the final three frames for the Mustangs. Mount Mercy had only three hits for the second-straight game. Lee was 1-for-3, Niketopolous 1-for-2, and Rylee Goodfellow 1-for-2.

Mount Mercy (0-4) has four games at the Ambrose Dome next weekend. The Mustangs take on College of Saint Mary at noon and St. Ambrose at 2:00 pm on Saturday, Feb. 19, then face St. Ambrose again at 9:00 am and Waldorf at 11:00 am on Sunday, Feb. 20, in Davenport.