NCF Softball took two out of three on the road at Ave Maria over the weekend to improve to 30-13 overall and 13-8 in Sun Conference play.
The Mighty Banyans Game 3 win, gave the program its first-ever 30-win campaign.
Game 1
New College of Florida opened the series with a 6-4 win over Ave Maria on Friday.
The Mighty Banyans broke through with three runs in the third inning.
Mackenzie Mathers drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly,
Rylie Harwood added a run on a stolen base sequence, and
Samantha Suarez followed with an RBI single.
New College added three more in the fourth. Harwood drove in a run on a fielder's choice before Mathers delivered a two-run double to extend the lead to 6-0.
Ave Maria chipped away late, but the Banyans held on to secure the opener.
Mathers led the offense with three RBI, while Harwood scored twice and drove in a run. Suarez added two hits and an RBI, and
Madison Garcia contributed a double.
Isabella Yazzetti earned the win, allowing one run over five innings with two strikeouts.
Dani Ebert recorded the final six outs to close out the victory.
Game 2
New College rallied with three runs in the seventh and brought the tying run to the plate, but fell just short in a 5-4 loss to Ave Maria in Saturday's opener.
After dropping behind early, New College cut into the deficit in the fourth when
Sydney Rich doubled home Suarez to make it 5-1.
The Banyans mounted their biggest push in the seventh as Lewis ripped an RBI double, Mathers followed with an RBI single, and Suarez added another RBI single to bring New College within one before Ave Maria recorded the final two outs.
Game 3
New College responded to Saturday's one-run setback by erupting for 13 runs on 16 hits to defeat Ave Maria 13-8 later in the afternoon.
The Banyans came out swinging, scoring three runs in the first inning. Harwood opened the scoring with an RBI single, and Rich followed with a two-run double to make it 3-0.
New College added three more in the second. Harwood drove in another run, Suarez drew an RBI walk, and Garcia doubled home two to extend the lead to 6-0.
After Ave Maria got on the board in the bottom of the second, the Mighty Banyans responded again in the fourth. Ariana Thomason delivered a two-run single,
Maya Moro added a sacrifice fly, and
Karyna Lewis brought home another run with a single to push the lead to 10-1.
Ave Maria chipped away over the middle innings, scoring seven runs across the fourth, fifth and sixth to cut the deficit to 10-8.
New College answered in the seventh to create breathing room. Garcia delivered a two-run single to score
Avery Arrington and
Jamie Reinhardt and stretch the lead back to five.
Lewis led the offense with four hits and an RBI, while Harwood finished with three hits and two RBI. Garcia drove in four runs, Thomason added two RBI, and Rich also drove in two.
Up Next: NCF will welcome St. Thomas to campus for its final regular season series next Friday and Saturday.
