NEW LONDON, Conn.  -  Playing as the home team in enemy territory, Coast Guard softball earned a win and a rare tie in a mid-week doubleheader with local rivals Mitchell College. A walk-off hit propelled the Bears to a 1-0 win in game one, while game two was called due to darkness with the teams in a nine-run stalemate.

Coast Guard improves to 7-6-1, while Mitchell moves to 10-13-1. The Mariners face Albertus Magnus College (16-10) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) South division doubleheader on April 11th.

Both teams entered the seventh inning of game one scoreless and in the midst of a stellar pitching duel. Bears junior ace Dana Walker (Macon, Ga.) blanked Mitchell in the top half to give the Bears a chance to end it in the bottom. Junior Emma Behel (Ellicott City, Md.) started it with a pinch-hit single up the middle before being replaced at first base by fellow third-year Bridget Bartz (Arlington, Va.), who advanced to third after freshman Madeline Kibler's (Effingham, Ill.) fly ball to center field fell due to the Mariners' outfielder losing it in the afternoon sun.

Fellow freshman Lauren Ragonese (Liverpool, N.Y.) then stepped up with one out and delivered. The second baseman laced a single over the right side of the infield to drive in Bartz and seal game one for Coast Guard. Ragonese was 2-for-3 on the day, while four other Bears recorded a hit each. Coast Guard stayed in position for the walk-off thanks to a gem by Walker, who allowed six hits and no walks while striking out eight in her third complete game shutoout of the season.

The Bears later found themselves down 4-8 in game two after Mitchell produced five runs in the fourth inning, but things turned around in the bottom half. Coast Guard immediately placed runners on first and second before senior captain Veronica Krystofik (Colchester, Conn.) drove one in with a single up the middle; following her was sophomore shortstop Mack Murnane (Wilmington, N.C.), who cleared the bases with a three-run homer over the left field fence, the first of her career.

After scoring another in the bottom of the fifth to make it 8-7, Mitchell earned the run back in the top sixth to put their lead back to two. In the bottom half, the Bears found themselves with two on and two out when Walker laced a hard ground ball towards' the Mariners shortstop; the hit was misplayed, and lead runner Ragonese took advantage as the ball rolled into the outfield. Mitchell got it in quick, but the freshman made it a one-run game by avoiding the tag with a smooth slide into home plate.

Coast Guard blanked their opponents again in the top seventh to set up another potential walk-off. Junior outfielder Maura Murphy (Bristow, Va.) earned some prime real estate by lacing a fly ball into the right-center field gap and legging it out to third base; after the next batter popped out, she'd score on a passed ball to tie it at nine. Murnane then reached on an error and advanced to second thanks to a textbook bunt single by senior captain Natalie Beck (Billings, Mont.), but Mitchell earned the final two outs to stoke the fire. Both teams agreed to end it there due to darkness.

Murphy went 3-for-4 in the second game, earning an RBI by driving in the fifth inning run with an infield single and crossing the plate twice herself. Joining her in the multi-hit category was sophomore Abriana Schmutz (Marysville, Ohio), who went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run. Six other Bears tallied a hit in the game, while Walker pitched the final four innings in relief and allowed three hits, two runs (one earned), three walks, and struck out four.

Bears softball plans to actually play at home on April 11th, hosting the Blue of Wellesley College (9-8-1) in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader. Wellesley was the last school to earn a draw in softball with Coast Guard, as both teams tied at one apiece back in 2009. More recently, the teams split last season's contests with a pair of eight-inning results, with the Bears taking the first by a 6-4 score and Wellesley taking the second in a 1-2 decision.