ROCHESTER, NY – The University of Rochester got its second straight 3-hit shutout, a 6-0 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Friday morning in the 2nd round of the 2015 Liberty League Softball Tournament.
 
The Yellowjackets (26-11) advance to Saturday's championship round where they will play the winner of the 3 pm elimination game between the Union/Skidmore winner and RPI.  The loss drops the Engineers to 20-14 on the year.
 

Rochester's Brittany Grage was excellent in the circle, tossing a 3-hitter with six strikeouts.  The shutout is her fifth this season and 19th of her career which ties her for the all-time lead at UR with Beth Ameno.
 
A day after picking up the win in the opener, RPI's Kristina Weltzin was saddled with the loss on Friday, allowing 3 hits, 4 runs and 5 walks with 2 strikeouts in 3 innings.  Stephanie Caudle finished up the game for the Engineers allowing 2 runs on 5 hits with 3 strikeouts.
 
Rochester was able to get on the board early, getting a run in the first inning behind a 2-out RBI single by sophomore Eleni Wechsler, scoring Kayla Kibling who led off the inning with a walk.
 
Grage mowed down the first nine batters for RPI in order, allowing the Yellowjackets to boost the lead out to 4-0 after three innings when freshman Jocelynn Blackshear cleared the bases with a 2-out, 3-run double to left center.
 
RPI's best chance of the game was in the top of the 4th when Danielle Balestrini and Jocilyn Rudisill led off with singles to quickly get two on with nobody out.  The next Engineer hitter, Taylor Ten Eyck then hit a soft liner to the infield which Kibling made a great diving catch on to double up the runner and ruin the scoring threat.
 
In the bottom half, Rochester added two more again with two outs.  Shelby Corning and Kibling led off with back-to-back singles.  After sac bunt and a strikeout, Wechsler stepped up and lined a double down the left field line to make the score 6-0 in favor of the top-seeded Yellowjackets.
 
Both Wechsler and Blackshear ended the game 2-3 with 3 RBI while Corning added a multi-hit effort, going 2-3 with a run.