St. Thomas Aquinas College’s Carissa Della Vecchia pitched a one-hit shutout in the first game and the Spartans hit three homers in the second game to register 3-0 and 10-2 victories over visiting Queens College in an East Coast Conference softball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Field.

The pair of wins extended STAC’s win streak to six games and lifted its overall record to 8-2 and conference record to 2-0.

“I was concerned about how the team would react after returning from the college’s two-week safety pause, but they played very sound softball today,” said STAC Head Coach Kristen Sullivan. “Carissa and Paige both pitched well again and we played strong defense behind them. It’s always good to start the conference on a winning note.”

Della Vecchia was in control from start to finish to increase her record to 5-0 with another impressive performance. The lefty allowed one hit, a bloop single in the sixth inning, and struck out nine. She received superb defensive support from Rudae Gadson at first base.  Offensively, Gadson and Missy Sadler drove in runs with sacrifice flies. Junior Kim Astrologo added two hits and senior Amanda Schweitzer doubled off of the right field fence.

STAC erased a 2-1 deficit with a four-run rally in the second inning and then tacked on another four runs in the third inning to coast to victory. Della Vecchia, who homered in the first inning, sparked the pivotal second inning surge with a RBI double and Sadler followed with a long two-run homer over the left field fence. Junior Nikki MacDonald hit her first collegiate home run to highlight the third inning action. Sarah Williams (three hits) and Amanda Castro (two hits) were other hitting stars in the game.

Winning pitcher Paige Toothaker (3-2) settled down after a slow start to earn her third win of the season. She received outstanding defensive help from MacDonald at shortstop and Della Vecchia at first base.

STAC hosts Mercy College on Wednesday, April 14 in an ECC doubleheader, which begins at 2:30pm.