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HOUGHTON, N.Y. -- Visiting Nazareth swept an Empire 8 Conference softball doubleheader against Houghton Saturday to complete its regular-season conference schedule as the fourth-place team for the upcoming E8 Tournament.
Junior
Stephanie Mongelli drove in four runs and senior
Sarah Papponetti scored four times as the Golden Flyers mercy-ruled the Highlanders in the first game, 10-0. In the second game, the Golden Flyers scored four runs in the first inning and withstood a late Houghton rally for a 6-4 victory.
Nazareth improved to 15-11 overall and 8-6 in conference games. Nazareth clinched a playoff spot thanks, in part, to St. John Fisher's doubleheader sweep of Alfred Saturday. The Golden Flyers will be making its second conference playoff appearance in their 11th season. Their only other trip came in 2008.
Nazareth has four non-conference doubleheaders to play this week before the Empire 8 Tournament starts May 5.
Game 1 - Nazareth 10, Houghton 0 (5 innings)
Mongelli and Papponetti each went 3-for-3 with Mongelli knocking in four runs and Papponetti scoring four times to tie a single game school record. Both players hit doubles in the first inning to account for Nazareth's first run.
Mongelli doubled home Papponetti again in the third inning and then scored herself on a double by
Meghan Barry. Another double by
Rachel Mertens chased Barry home with the third run of the inning.
Two more runs came home in the fourth, including one on
Delaney St. George's team-leading fourth home run of the season. Papponetti hit another double and later scored on an infield grounder by
Nicole White.
The game ended with four more runs in the fifth. Mongelli singled home two runs and White singled home another with the fourth run scoring on an infield error. White (7-5) was the winning pitcher after allowing just three hits with six strikeouts over five innings.
Game 2 - Nazareth 6, Houghton 4
Nazareth scored five runs in the first two innings and then held on for the win. White and sophomore
Annika Guiliano each had three of Nazareth's 12 hits.
Four hits came in the first inning when the Golden Flyers scored four times.
Kristen Simmons led off with a walk and advanced on Papponetti's single. Marisa Tortora reached on an error that enabled Simmons to score, then Mongelli singled home Papponetti for another run. White hit a sacrifice fly for another run and Guiliano singled home another.
Nazareth added another run in the second after Papponetti walked and advanced to second on a passed ball. After Mongelli walked, Papponetti scored on a single by White. St. George hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning for Nazareth's sixth run.
The Golden Flyers carried a 6-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, but Houghton rallied to score twice in the sixth and once in the seventh. Mertens improved to 8-4 as a pitcher by scattering seven hits and striking out seven, including the final batter of the game to clinch Nazareth's first playoff berth since 2008.
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