SARASOTA, Fla. - NCF Softball earned a series win over No. 22 St. Thomas over the weekend to finish the regular season a program-best 32-14 overall and 15-9 in Sun Conference play.
The weekend series featured a Coach Aly Bermudez tribute day Saturday in which included a pregame ceremony in which her mother, Elizabeth and brother Corwin threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Game 1
New College of Florida rallied late to defeat St. Thomas, 7-4, in Game 1 of the series Friday.
St. Thomas struck first with a two-run home run in the opening inning and added another run in the second to take a 3-0 lead.
New College got on the board in the bottom of the second when
Kaitlin Kohlenberg singled home
Kelsey Harper, and the Banyans evened the game in the bottom of the fourth behind a two-run home run from
Madison Garcia.
After St. Thomas regained a 4-3 lead in the sixth, New College answered with a decisive four-run frame in the bottom half of the inning.
Garcia led off the inning with her second home run of the game to tie it, before Kohlenberg reached and later scored on an error.
Maya Moro followed with a pinch-hit RBI single, and
Karyna Lewis added another run-scoring hit to cap the rally.
Garcia led the offense with two home runs and three RBI, while Kohlenberg recorded two hits and drove in a run. Harper also added two hits and scored twice.
Dani Ebert earned the complete-game victory, allowing four runs on four hits while striking out eight.
Game 2
New College of Florida fell to St. Thomas, 12-1, in Game 2 of the series in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.
St. Thomas set the tone early, scoring five runs in the first inning, highlighted by a grand slam from Allison Morales. New College answered in the bottom half as
Rylie Harwood singled home
Karyna Lewis, but that would be the Banyans' lone run of the game.
The Bobcats added another run in the second before breaking things open in the fifth with six runs, including a grand slam from Emma Edwards and a solo shot from Maggie Kirk.
Tristan Buchanan provided a strong outing in relief in the circle, allowing just one earned run over four innings.
Game 3
New College shut out St. Thomas, 4-0 in the finale Saturday, to close the series victory and put a bow on the regular season.
The Banyans did all of its damage at the plate in the first inning. Lewis scored on an RBI single from Harwood, and
Samantha Suarez followed with a two-run double to extend the lead.
Jamie Reinhardt later reached on an error, allowing Suarez to score and make it 4-0.
That was more than enough support for
Isabella Yazzetti, who delivered a complete-game shutout. Yazzetti scattered four hits over seven innings while striking out four.
Up Next: NCF will be the No. 4 seed in the Sun Conference Tournament and play No. 5-seeded St. Thomas next Thursday at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater. The start time is yet to be determined.
