Sparkill, N.Y. - Sarah Clancy's superb one-hit pitching performance, combined with Eliana Raposo's power at the plate and stellar defensive effort, helped to propel the St. Thomas Aquinas College Softball team to a 3-0 win over D'Youville University on Thursday afternoon in the first round of the East Coast Conference Tournament at Spartan Field.
The victory pushed STAC's overall record to 29-17, while D'Youville dropped to 19-18.
The top-seeded Spartans advance to the second round Friday at 10:00 a.m. to meet second-seeded Mercy University, which topped Molloy University, 4-3, in today's other first-round game.
A wild pitch got the maroon and gold scoring started in the bottom of the first inning, as an erratic throw by D'Youville pitcher Sarah Parzych, with two outs and runners on second and third, allowed Adriana Coira to race home to make it 1-0.
Runs were at a premium between the sides in the postseason opener, that is until Eliana Raposo uncorked a two-run shot over the left-center field fence in the sixth inning to increase the Spartans' lead to 3-0.
Starting Pitcher Sarah Clancy (16-9) lived up to her Co-Pitcher of the Year status against the Saints by allowing just one hit and no walks with four strikeouts over seven innings of work to pick up her sixteenth win of the year. As a matter of fact, Clancy allowed only three base runners the entire game, with the other two coming via an throwing error and a hit by pitch from the lefty.
In the field, the Spartans sparkled with their gloves, including several defensive gems courtesy of Raposo.
STAC's second-round opponent Mercy is a very familiar one, as the schools are separated by a little over 11 miles and the Hudson River. The Spartans won three-of-four matchups with the Mavericks in the regular season.
2025 EAST COAST CONFERENCE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
Thursday, May 1
Game 1: No. 4 D'Youville - 0 vs. No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas - 3
Game 2: No. 3 Molloy - 3 vs. No. 2 Mercy - 4
Friday, May 2
Game 3 – 10:00 AM – No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. No. 2 Mercy
Game 4 – 12:30 PM – No. 4 D'Youville vs. No. 3 Molloy
Game 5 – 3:00 PM – Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Saturday, May 3
Game 6 – 12:00 PM – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 – If Necessary – Game 6 Participants (If winner of Game 5 wins Game 6)
Game would begin 30 minutes after field prep is completed