SALEM, VA – Rochester finished in a tie for seventh place at the NCAA Division III Softball Championships here after a 2-1 loss to the University of St. Thomas on Saturday morning. Rochester finishes the 2021 campaign with a single-season record for victories (35-10). This was UR's second appearance in the NCAA's final round. The Yellowjackets made the trip in 2014.
 
The Tommies scored the winning run on a solo home run by Megan Baniecke in the bottom of the sixth inning. It came after a relatively quiet start to the inning – groundouts to short by the first two hitters who had reached base six times between them before the sixth. Baniecke turned on a 1-1 pitch and lofted a high fly ball down the left field line. UR leftfielder Jen Carson was positioned at the fence, but the ball had enough to carry it just over the fence by the 200 ft. mark on the left field pole.
 
In the Rochester seventh, Toni Anne Hahn lined a single off the glove of the third baseman. Sammi Re came in to run. Alizah Ayon pinch hit for Allison Beckwith. She popped up an 0-1 pitch that was caught by UST pitcher Kiersten Anderson-Glass. Madi Turner struck out swinging for the second out. Alexis Pope lined hard to third with UST's Sarah Hudson clutching it to wrap up the win.
 
Anderson-Glass allowed five hits, no walks, and struck out 11. She yielded three hits in the first when Rochester took a 1-0 lead. After giving up a leadoff single to Turner in the second, she set down 15 straight. That streak was snapped on the Hahn single in the seventh

Hannah Leahy was just as frustrating to the UST hitters. She stranded 11 runners over the first five innings – eight in scoring position and two others cut down in scoring position. She fed off the energy by her teammates in the field and they fed off her.
 
When the game resumed in the bottom of the fourth Saturday morning, Sydney Mickett reached on an error. Coryn Jacobsen grounded to Turner who flipped to Hahn just in time to get the lead runner. Sam Birling singled up the middle and took second on the throw as Jacobsen moved to third. Baniecke tried to bunt, perhaps a safety squeeze. The ball went just in front of the plate. Hunter Gilbreath pounced on it and seeing Jacobsen partially down the line, fired the ball to Hahn cutting over to third. Jacobsen was tagged out. Anderson-Glass flied to Carson in left to end the inning.
 
Another error set up the Tommies in the fifth, but Leahy and the defense came through. Hudson singled and was bunted to second. Bridget Armstrong reached on an error. Leahy forced a ground ball to Pope at third with with Armstrong moving to second. Hahn closed the inning, throwing out Katie Goelz.
 
In six innings of work, Leahy scattered nine hits, walked three, and fanned one. In three of the UST scoring threats, she was able to get the last two outs of the inning with no damage.
 
This game started on Friday afternoon and went through two rain delays totaling close to three hours before it was suspended until 9 a.m. Saturday.
 
Rochester took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. With one out, Carson dropped a single just inside the right field line. Hannah Keiper singled to left, advancing Carson one base. Hahn struck out, but Beckwith singled through the left side with Carson scoring and Keiper moving to second. Turner came to the plate. On the first pitch, the UST catcher picked off Keiper to end the inning.
 
The Yellowjackets turned in several sharp defensive plays to thwart the Tommies. The first two hitters singled vs. Leahy. Banieckie singled to left. Carson's throw to the plate to keep the runner at third, was off-line. The runner darted back and forth before deciding to run home. Leahy got to the ball quickly at the backstop and fired it to Gilbreath for the putout. The other two runners advanced to second and third. Marissa Russo caught a fly in mid-right field but got it in quickly to keep the tying run on base. A grounder to Hahn at short ended the inning.
 
In the second, a walk and a base hit put two aboard with no outs. A pinch-hitter tried to bunt the runners over. Pope got to the ball quickly, spun, and fired to Hahn who beat the lead runner to the third base bag for the first out. That was key, because a groundout, a walk, and a single produced a tying run.
 
One inning later, Leahy walked Anderson-Glass. A pinch-runner was inserted. Another bunt came to Pope again and she threw long to second base to cut down the runner. A single put two aboard once more, but Leahy forced a foul pop near the Tommies dugout (caught by Pope) and struck out the eighth-place hitter.