LAVERNE, CA – Rochester split a doubleheader at the University of LaVerne on Thursday late afternoon/early evening with both games ending with 4-3 scores. Game end ended with all three outs occurring on one play – but not a triple play. Rochester was the beneficiary. Game two went to extra innings after LaVerne rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning. The hosts won, 4-3, on a home run in the bottom of the ninth.
 
Rochester is 2-8 overall, 2-4 on this roadtrip with four games left – DHs on Friday and Saturday. The Yellowjackets split with Carnegie Mellon, then were swept by unbeaten Chapman College (although they rallied from a 9-1 deficit in the fifth inning to eventually tie the score before the hosts won, 11-10 in extra innings.) In game one on Thursday, they had sound pitching and clutch hitting to grab their second win of the season. In the nightcap, it was a terrific pitching duel for six innings – both ways – before things changed dramatically.
 
Game One:
Rochester 4, LaVerne 3: Lauren Keys picked up her first win of the season with five innings of three-hit relief. She allowed one run, walked two, and fanned one coming on for Bryce West to start the third inning.
 
Rochester collected nine hits against Rachel Rubio (7 IP, 9 hits, 4 earned runs, 5 strikeouts, 0 walks). The Yellowjackets scored a pair in the second inning to go ahead, 2-1. LaVerne tied the score in its half of the second, before UR scored a pair in the top of the third. LaVerne scored one in the sixth on Janisoe Rojo's third and a groundout by Hailee Reinhart. That cut the lead to 4-3.
 
Rubio found her form over the last three innings. She let the first two Yellowjackets aboard in the fifth- Bailey Nicholoff on an error and an infield single from Allison Beckwith. A groundout by Hannah Keiper moved the runners to second and third, before Rubio shut the door with an infield pop and a short fly to right. She retired Rochester's last nine hitters.
 
In the home seventh, LaVerne's Ashley Rodriguez reached on an interference call to start the inning and moved up on a wild pitch. Haylee Hsieh walked to put two on, none out, and the 2-3-4 hitters coming up. Pinch-hitter Jelena Aguom ripped a line drive to the left side. It was speared by a diving Ally Kim. She managed to throw the ball to Madison Turner to force Rodriguez and leave Hsieh at first alone. The ball got back to Keys in the circle and Hsieh was off the base. She was ruled out under the phrase 'runner left early'.

 
In the UR second, Keiper and Katie White singled. West's grounder to second advanced both runners. After a Turner grounder to third, Hunter Gilbreath lined a double down the right field line to put Rochester ahead, 2-1.
 
Game Two:
LaVerne 4, Rochester 3: The ending was simple – a one-out home run to centerfield by Marissa Acosta in the bottom of the ninth. But it was nowhere near the drama of the bottom of the seventh.
 
For six innings, Emily Sharlach kept the LaVerne bats in line. She allowed three baserunners through the first six innings – a double by Julie Contreras in the fourth (after the first 11 hitters were retired), a leadoff single in the sixth, and a fielder's choice grounder from Hsieh when she forced Hailee Reinhart who singled to start the inning.
 
Rochester built a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first two innings. Kim led off the game with her first home run of the year – to left centerfield. In the Yellowjacket second, Maddie Turner was hit by a pitch and Kristen Myers ran for her. Gilbreath bunted her to second. Loren Castilloux's grounder moved her to third and she scored on Alexis Klee's grounder to short.
 
LaVerne pitching clamped down after that, retiring 14 in a row before Turner singled up the middle. West came on as a pinch-hitter and doubled down the left field line, That brought home the third run heading into the bottom of the seventh.
 
The Yellowjackets had to get through the top of the order, but the best-laid plans…
 
LaVerne loaded the bases on a single, two infield errors, and a flyout. A single brought home one unearned run and back to back walks scored two more, also unearned. Sharlach found an unusual but successful way to keep the game tied and force extras. Hsieh popped the ball up to the edge of the dirt behind second base. Umpires signaled an infield fly with the batter out automatically and the runners able to advance "at their own risk". Kim and Klee collided and the ball hit the ground. Kim picked it up and threw a perfect relay to Turner who tagged out Natalia Aguilera trying to score from third.
 
Kim walked to lead off the eighth but was caught stealing. The Leopards walked two more, then induced an infield pop for the third out. In the LaVerne half, Sharlach struck out the first two hits. She gave up a single to Katheryn Navarro who overran first base. Sharlach quickly threw the ball to Keiper who tagged out Navarro for the third out. Acosta's home run came as the second hitter in the ninth.