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Adrianna Dilal Throws One-Hit Shutout, Spartans Split with Mavericks

Adrianna Dilal Throws One-Hit Shutout, Spartans Split with Mavericks
Posted: Apr 09, 2019

Adrianna Dilal tossed a one-hitter to lead the St. Thomas Aquinas College Softball team to an 8-0 win over host Mercy College on Tuesday in the second game of an East Coast Conference doubleheader held in Dobbs Ferry, NY. Mercy won the first game, 4-1.

It was the Spartans eighth win in 12 ECC games (17-13 overall) and propelled them into a second place tie with the University of Bridgeport. LIU Post leads the conference with a 10-2 mark. Mercy dropped to 17-15 and 5-7 in the conference.

Dilal (Rochester, N.Y.), a junior right-hander, won her fourth straight start with a dominant performance. She held the Mavericks hitless before Casey Akers doubled with two outs in the fifth inning. Adrianna finished with four strikeouts to lift her record to 7-6. Centerfielder Melissa Sadler (Milton, N.Y.) played well defensively.

Caitlyn Francoeur's (East Bridgewater, Mass.) two-run single in the first inning jumpstarted the STAC offense and Sadler's bases-loaded walk keyed a three-run, second inning. Francoeur drove in another run with a fourth-inning single to continue her hot hitting. She is now batting .343. Teammates Ashley Landolina (Tolland, Ct.) and Briana Keaveney (New City, N.Y.) also had important offensive contributions.

"Adrianna was sharp again today and helped us gain an important conference split," said STAC Head Coach Kristen Sullivan. "After not performing well in the first game, the girls showed urgency in the second game and were able to build a quick 5-0 lead."

In the opening game, STAC got on the scoreboard first by virtue of Amanda Leone's (Milford, Ct.) RBI double to left field, but squandered several other scoring chances in the early innings. Mercy tallied runs in third and fourth innings and that was all starting pitcher Raina Gorman needed to post her sixth win of the season, in 10 decisions. Colleen Borum (Mountain Top, Ct.) pitched well for STAC and Francoeur played well at second base.

STAC next hosts Queens College on Thursday in an East Coast Conference twin bill that starts at 2:30 p.m. at Spartan Field.