Mount Saint Charles Academy starting pitcher Izzy Melanson, shown fielding a bunt during last Thursday’s game against Exeter/West Greenwich, didn’t have to rely on her defense for most of the five-inning game. She gave up one hit and struck out 14 batters to help her undefeated team cruise to a 13-0 victory.
Mount Saint Charles Academy senior Olivia Young scores her team's third run of the game in the bottom of the first inning of last Thursday's game against Exeter/West Greenwich. The Mounties defeated the Scarlet Knights, 13-0, for their third win of the season.
Mount St. Charles Academy senior center fielder and leadoff batter Bella Mencarini, left, takes her lead off first base last Thursday after beating out an infield hit to shortstop. She scored three runs and reached base three times in the 13-0 win over Exeter West/Greenwich. The first baseman is Madison Rathbun.
Mount Saint Charles Academy starting pitcher Izzy Melanson, shown fielding a bunt during last Thursday’s game against Exeter/West Greenwich, didn’t have to rely on her defense for most of the five-inning game. She gave up one hit and struck out 14 batters to help her undefeated team cruise to a 13-0 victory.
Mount Saint Charles Academy senior Olivia Young scores her team's third run of the game in the bottom of the first inning of last Thursday's game against Exeter/West Greenwich. The Mounties defeated the Scarlet Knights, 13-0, for their third win of the season.
Mount St. Charles Academy senior center fielder and leadoff batter Bella Mencarini, left, takes her lead off first base last Thursday after beating out an infield hit to shortstop. She scored three runs and reached base three times in the 13-0 win over Exeter West/Greenwich. The first baseman is Madison Rathbun.
WOONSOCKET – Three years after returning to Division II after spending 2019 in the state’s top division, the Mount Saint Charles Academy softball team has changed divisions again this season, but this time, the Mounties are playing in D-III.
And after four games, the Mounties have been rolling over the rest of the division. On Monday afternoon, the Mounties improved their record to 4-0 by posting a 14-1 win over Central at Providence’s Aldo Freda Field, which like their previous three victories, was halted after five innings by the mercy rule.
The Mounties opened their season with 17-0 victories at Classical on March 31 and at home against Rogers five days later, and last Thursday afternoon, Mount cruised to a 13-0 win over Exeter/West Greenwich at home.
Everyone returned from last season’s team, including senior pitchers Olivia Young, who is a two-time All-Division selection, and Izzy Melanson, who earned Second-Team All-Division honors last spring, and they picked up a couple of new players to round out the team.
“We have a freshman shortstop, Sophia Baeta,” Mount head coach Derek Young added. “She’s for real and a real nice player. And we had a senior transfer from Woonsocket, Bella Mencarini.”
In the Mounties’ win over EWG, Mencarini led off and played center field, and Melanson and Young were the battery, as Melanson took the mound and Young was behind the plate.
“Our regular catcher, (junior) Carolyn Acker started off with a knee injury, so we’ve sort of adapted,” added the head coach, who started Acker in left field. “Hopefully, we’ll have her back there where she belongs.”
Melanson was on fire, giving up just one hit, while striking out 14 batters and allowing two base runners. The other out that was recorded was on a grounder to the mound.
Because Melanson and Young have been averaging double digits in strikeouts each game, “I try to give (the fielders) things to do on each pitch to keep them focused because I want them ready when we start to see a lot of balls in play against teams that may hit a little better,” the head coach said. “It’s difficult, but I try to give them things to read and think about, and you just hope it works.”
As for their lineup, the head coach said they are pretty solid from one through five, but the top two hitters are Young and Melanson, “and the positions (in the field) are pretty much how we left off last year,” he said.
The Mounties have eight seniors on their roster, with most of them seasoned veterans who play softball year-round. First baseman Caitlyn Belisle, second baseman Brooke Forget, and outfielder Chandra Moretti are also key players from the 12th grade, and another returning junior who has been a standout is third baseman Lily Vendittelli.
As for their new division, the Mounties entered Tuesday’s action tied for first place with Tiverton, which is also 4-0, and one game behind them in the standings with 3-1 records are Davies and the defending D-III champion Shea/Tolman co-op team. Also in the nine-team division is Cranston East.
“I’m sort of learning the landscape (of the division),” the head coach said. “But our goal is to get to the (D-III) tournament at the end (of the season),” Young said. “We haven’t been to the playoffs since 2018.”
And so far, with the mild spring weather, the Mounties have enjoyed playing and practicing at home.
“It’s always feels like it’s colder here than every other place in the state, so we’ll take as much 80 and 90-degree stuff as we can get,” Young said. “Some days, it’s warm every where else, but you come here with a little bit of a wind and you freeze.”
In the Mounties’ victory over Central, Young pitched an excellent one-hitter, striking out 11 batters and walking no one, and at the plate, Melanson went 3-for-3 with two triples, Vendittelli added a base hit and a double, and Young also collected multiple hits. Acker also returned behind the plate.
The Mounties, who were scheduled to host Cranston East on Wednesday afternoon, will also host neighboring Woonsocket in a non-league matchup on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
As for Mount’s first showdown against Tiverton, it will take place on Thursday, April 27, at 4:45 p.m. on the Mounties’ campus.
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