ANNVILLE, PA – 15th-ranked University of Rochester softball rolled past the Eastern Nazarene College Lions, 8-0, in a run-rule-shortened six innings in its opening game of the Annville Regional, hosted by Lebanon Valley College on Thursday afternoon at LVC Softball Field.
 
Maddie White made quick work of the Lions' hitters, retiring the first six batters the first-year faced before Rochester got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second.
 
Eastern Nazarene's Jennelle Munoz retired the first two hitters of the inning, but Savannah Nowak kept the inning alive with a triple to center, giving Rochester its first runner in scoring position. Munoz then looked to get out of the inning, getting Molly Mason to hit a ground ball to the pitcher, but a defensive miscue allowed Mason to reach and Nowak to come home and score, giving UR a 1-0 lead.
 
The Yellowjackets would then take advantage of the error, plating three more runs on three-straight RBI singles. Mason would steal second to move into scoring position before Hunter Gilbreath laced a single down the left-field line, scoring Mason to make it a 2-0 Rochester advantage.
 
Klee then slashed a single to right, scoring Gilbreath, before Kim found a hole in the right side of the Lions' infield, plating another run to make it 4-0 'Jackets.
 
Eastern Nazarene would pick up its first hit again White, a one-out, bunt single by Alex Schwenger, but White worked around the one-out base runner to keep the Lions scoreless and the Yellowjackets then added to their lead in the bottom of the third.
 
Bailey Nicholoff led off the inning with a single but was caught trying to steal second. Jenna Gorecki though, drew a one-out walk and was pinch-ran for by Jensen Sminchak, who came all the way around to score on Madi Turner's RBI double, giving Rochester a 5-0 lead.
 
White then pitched a 1-2-3 fourth and worked around a pair of base runners with some help from a double play turned by Kim and Hannah Keiper in the fifth, but Munoz would strand a pair and keep UR off the scoreboard in both innings as well.
 
However, after Lauren Keys relieved White and worked around a pair of two-out singles in the top of the sixth, the Yellowjackets would finish things off in the bottom of the frame.
 
Mason again got things started with a single, and Gilbreath reached on a sacrifice bunt and errand throw, putting two on with nobody out. A batter later, Kim cleared the bases with a two-run triple to extend the lead to 7-0, before Nicholoff brought home Kim with a sacrifice fly to finish off the run-rule victory.
 
#15 Rochester moves to 38-7 on the year, a school record for the most wins in a season, while Eastern Nazarene drops to 22-20 with the loss.
 
White (7-0) earned the win, allowing just two hits, walking one and striking out one over 5.0 innings pitched. Keys tossed an inning of relief, allowing two hits, while Munoz (14-8) took the loss for the Lions, allowing eight runs, but just two earned, on 10 hits over 5.2 innings pitched.
 
Three 'Jackets turned in multi-hit days, led by Kim, who went 2-for-4 with a double, triple, run scored and three RBI. Nicholoff also notched a pair of hits, going 2-for-3 with a double and RBI, while Mason went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs scored.
 
The Yellowjackets now advance to the winners' bracket, where they'll face 24th-ranked Eastern Connecticut State on Friday, May 19 at 12:00 p.m.