SPARKILL, NY – No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas defeated No. 2 Mercy in the first game of the day and No. 4 D'Youville upset both No. 3 Molloy and Mercy on Day 2 of the 2025 ECC Softball Championship at STAC's Spartan Field on Friday. The back-to-back defending champion Spartans will be the home team against the Saints, appearing in their first ever ECC postseason, on Saturday morning at 11:00 AM. STAC needs one win to clinch the title, while DYU needs two.
NO. 1 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS d. NO. 2 MERCY, 7-3
BOX SCORE
Recap courtesy of St. Thomas Aquinas College Sports Information
Timely hitting, including home runs by Trinadey Santiago and Eliana Raposo, helped to catapult St. Thomas Aquinas College to a 7-3 win over Mercy University on Friday and earn a berth in the championship round of the East Coast Conference Softball Tournament.
Top-seeded STAC, now 30-17, will meet fourth-seeded D'Youville University on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at Spartan Field. D'Youville eliminated both No. 3 Molloy University (4-3) and No. 2 Mercy University (10-3) to advance in the four-team, double elimination tourney. The Spartans will only need to defeat the Saints once on Saturday to win their third consecutive conference title, while D'Youville would need to beat STAC twice to capture their first-ever league crown.
The victory over the Mavericks also gave St. Thomas Aquinas its 30th win for a third straight season.
Mercy opened the scoring with a leadoff homer from Allison Murphy in first inning to make it 1-0. However, Trinadey Santigo answered with a two-run blast to left field in the fourth to give the Spartans the 2-1 advantage.
STAC would not relinquish the lead during the remainder of the contest, and would even add to it with runs in the sixth and seventh innings to blow the game wide open. A Trinadey Santigo fielder's choice, combined with a Mavericks error, allowed Aliya Feerick to score to make it 3-1, followed by Jessica Feerick's RBI single which put the maroon and gold up by three at 4-1. An Eliana Raposo two-run home run and another Jess Feerick run-scoring base knock extended the Spartans' lead to 7-1.
The visiting Mavs would try to claw back into the game with a two-out, two RBI single via Allison Murphy in the seventh to make it 7-3, but starting pitcher Sarah Clancy would work out of trouble to secure her team's spot in the ECC title game.
Speaking of Clancy, the lefty went the distance for St. Thomas Aquinas, allowing three runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts to run her record to 17-9 on the year.
Saturday's championship round appearance is STAC's fourth in the last five seasons.
NO. 4 D'YOUVILLE d. NO. 3 MOLLOY, 4-3
BOX SCORE
Recap courtesy of D'Youville University Sports Information
It was a high-pressure day after the Saints suffered their first loss of the tournament to St. Thomas Aquinas College the day before and had to win to stay alive in the East Coast Conference tournament. Gameplay started scoreless between the Lions and Saints as they Lions threatened in first three innings with hits but were unable to score. Molloy looked to strike again in the top of the fifth as they put a runner on a second and the fourth batter of the inning singled to left field, but a perfect throw from
Shannon Howes to home got the lead runner out and kept the game at zero.
The Molloy offense finally pushed runs across in the top of the seventh as they plated three runs to take the 3-0 lead. With their backs against the wall, the Saints never stopped fighting as they loaded the bases following singles from
Laura Beck and
Isabella Mancino along with a walk from
Mia Trietley.
Hailee Jenkins provided the infield single to score the first run for the Saints while
Sophia Arno singled through the left side to record an RBI of her own.
Gianna Adamo knocked a single to left field to tie the game at three.
Annie Jorgenson was the hero yet again as she knocked a double to right field to score Arno and give the Saints the 4-3 walk off victory to keep D'Youville alive in the tournament.
Summer Clark got the start for the Saints in the circle throwing the first six innings allowing no runs and striking out two.
NO. 4 D'YOUVILLE d. NO. 2 MERCY, 10-3
BOX SCORE
Recap courtesy of D'Youville University Sports Information
Annie Jorgenson kept her bat warm as she started game two with a two-run homer in the top of the first to give the Saints the early lead. From there, strong defense and pitching kept the Mavericks at bay while back-to-back doubles from
Becca Sawyer and
Sophia Arno added a third run for the Saints.
The Mavericks fought back plating three runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game. The score remained that way until the top of the seventh when the Saints offense exploded for seven more runs. Trietley, Adamo, Jorgenson, and Howes all recorded hits along with four fielder's choice plays to put the Saints ahead 10-3.
Sarah Parzych shut down the Mavericks offense in the bottom of the seventh to give the Saints the 10-3 victory in game two and send them to the championship game. Parzych threw the complete game for the Saints earning her second win of the day while only allowing one earned run in the game with four strikeouts.