The D'Youville softball team kicked off a busy weekend of East Coast Conference action with a doubleheader against Mercy, dropping both games of the twin-bill, 10-2 and 12-2, at Dobson Field on a chilly Friday afternoon.

The pair of defeats saw the Saints' losing skid extend to six games and move to 7-8 overall and 2-7 in the ECC, while the guest Mavericks improved to 9-6 on the season and 8-3 in league play. 

Game One Recap 

The Mavericks jumped on the board early with an RBI single courtesy of Danielle Burgos. Mercy piled it on in the third inning with six runs, highlighted by a triple placed down the right field line by Sydney Johnson that scored two. Johnson struck again in the fourth inning with a double to center field that plated two more runs and Alexandra Karavias added her own RBI single later in the frame to widen the gap to 10 runs. 

With the outfield drawn in during the fifth inning, slap-hitting second baseman Maddy Pepke made the defense pay with a fly ball over the center fielder's head. Pepke raced around the bases, beating the relay throw home, for her second inside-the-park home run of the season. Three batters later, sophomore catcher Jamie Bower laced a double to left center for D'Youville's second run of the game, driving in sophomore pinch-runner Ashley Schenkel from first base.  

Senior pitcher Alexa Haberer (4-4) got the start in game one and was roughed up for five earned runs on six hits while striking out one and walking two in 2.2 innings of work. Senior pitcher Brittaney Goodrich came on in relief and tossed the next two innings, surrendering another three runs on four hits. Freshman pitcher Jill Weber made her collegiate debut in the circle for D'Youville, recording the final out in the field for the Saints.  

Game Two Recap 

Burgos started the rematch in the same fashion as game one, lacing an RBI single in the first inning. A ground-out to second led to another run for the Mavericks and Samantha Franck tacked one more run in the first with a single to right field. Freshman pitcher Lauren Booth grabbed one run back in the home half of the first with an RBI single to center, scoring senior shortstop Rachel Colan.  

Pepke trimmed the lead to one in the second with a groundout, where some confusion on the basepaths led to Haberer advancing home and sophomore left-fielder Maeve Finney advancing to third after a throw hit her in the head during a rundown and rolled into left field. The Mavericks widened their advantage with a five-run fourth and a three-run fifth inning to grab their second five-inning victory of the day. 

In the circle, Booth (1-2) allowed six earned runs on 11 hits and struck one while walking three in the 3.1 innings. Goodrich (1.0 inning) and Haberer (0.2 innings) each made their second appearances of the day in the circle, coming on in relief of Booth. 

Notables - Finney (3-for-4) and Pepke (2-for-5, HR, BB) were the only Saints to hit safely more than once in Friday's sweep ... Pepke has tallied nine multi-hit contests this season ... Friday's nightcap was Finney's first career multi-hit game ... The Mavericks sprayed 25 hits in their two victories, as D'Youville managed only nine ... Five mistakes plagued the Saints in the field while Mercy made no errors ... D'Youville left 14 runners on base while Mercy stranded 13. 

Up Next - The Saints continue conference play on Saturday with a doubleheader against St. Thomas Aquinas. Saturday's twin-bill begins at noon and can be seen on the ECC Network. Track the action through live stats and follow the Saints on Instagram (@dyouvillesoftball) and Twitter (@DyouvilleSB).