LYNDHURST, N.J. – Graduate first baseman Nicole Spiegelberg (Blauvelt, N.Y./Tappan Zee) hit her 40^th career home run to help lead Felician University to an 8-7 Game 2 victory over visiting Mercy College and a split of the teams' non-conference softball doubleheader on Thursday afternoon at the Lyndhurst Recreation Complex. Mercy had scored the final 13 runs to claim Game 1, 15-5 in five innings.

Redshirt freshman right fielder Vienna Chierchia (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) was 4 for 7 on the day for Felician (6-14). Mercy senior left fielder Alyssa Guzman (Riverside, Calif./Mount San Antonio College) went 5 for 7 with six runs batted in.

Spiegelberg opened the scoring in the nightcap with a solo blast to straightaway center field in the bottom of the first inning. Felician's all-time home run leader since the beginning of last season, she is now one of 10 active NCAA Division II players with 40 or more.

The Mavericks (5-3) broke a 3-3 tie in with two runs in the top of the fifth. With two outs, Guzman lined an RBI double, move up on a single, and scored on a throwing error. But the Golden Falcons soared back with a four-spot in the bottom of the fifth. Chierchia produced an RBI double and freshman Daisha Howard (Westbury, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) followed with a go-ahead two-run double. Howard later scored on a throwing error.

Felician freshman Alexis Velotta (Menifee, Calif./Paloma Valley) homered in the sixth, and it proved to be a key insurance run. Maverick junior Ylannah Bowman (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) led off the seventh with a homer, and an RBI double by Hailey Puglia (Holtsville, N.Y./Assumption College) put the potential go-ahead run at the plate. But Golden Falcon reliever Alexis De La Cruz (San Jacinto, Calif./San Jacinto) induced a groundout to secure the victory.

De La Cruz (2-2) pitched four innings out of the Felician bullpen, allowing seven hits. Velotta was 2 for 2 plus a walk with a pair of RBI, and Chierchia also collected two hits for the hosts. Guzman finished 3 for 4 with a double and two RBI as Mercy outhit the Golden Falcons, 13-8.

Felician overcame an early 2-0 deficit with five runs in the bottom of the first inning of Game 1, helped by two-run singles from Chierchia and C.J. Apacible (Long Beach, Calif./Lakewood). But six Golden Falcon errors led to eight unearned runs for Mercy, which then put the game away with seven runs on seven hits in the fifth.

Maverick pitcher Alexi Benson (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) (3-0) struck out six Golden Falcons over four innings, yielding seven hits. Bowman went 3 for 4 with a double, as half of Mercy's 14 hits went for extra bases. Chierchia was 2 for 3 for Felician.

Felician next plays on Monday in a non-conference road doubleheader against fellow Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference member Caldwell University. Per CACC protocol due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, no spectators will be allowed to attend athletics events hosted by CACC institutions until further notice. Check www.caccnetwork.com for live webstream information.