CLERMONT, FL – The University of Rochester opened their second day at The Spring Games with an 11-1, five-inning, run-rule shortened win over Hamline University, before falling to the Gettysburg College Bullets, 8-4, on Tuesday at Hancock Park. With the split, Rochester moves to 4-4 on the year, while Gettysburg sits at 5-1 and Hamline moves to 4-1 with the loss.
 
GAME ONE: Rochester 11, Hamline 1 (5 innings)
For the first time at The Spring Games, Rochester would play from behind as Hamline struck first in the top of the first. With one out, Elena Martinez reached on an infield single to short, and Josephine Cariveau followed with an RBI double, giving the Pipers a 1-0 lead.
 
Lauren Keys would retire the next two batters though, striking out Savannah Johnson and getting a groundout to end the inning, bringing the Yellowjackets to the plate.
 
UR quickly found an answer, as Bailey Nicholoff doubled to right-center on just the third pitch of her at-bat, stole third and came around to score on Riley Laygo's single to level the score at one-all.
 
And after Keys settled down after the opening frame and struck out the side in the second, retiring all three Pipers via a strikeout swinging, the Yellowjackets took the lead in the bottom of the frame.
 
Ilana Weiss got the rally started with a one-out single, taking second on Jensen Sminchak's groundout. Nicholoff drew a hit-by-pitch to put two on with two out for Laygo, whose three-run homer gave Rochester a 4-1 lead.
 
Hamline looked to counter in the top of the third, with back-to-back singles to start the frame, but Keys followed up a foul out with two more strikeouts, bringing UR back to the plate, where the 'Jackets would plate three more.
 
Molly Mason reached on an error and Loren Castilloux beat on an infield single to bring up Julianna Lyons, who socked a three-run shot to dead center, extending Rochester's lead to 7-1.
 
In the top of the fourth, Keys scored another strikeout, one of a career-high nine on the day for the junior, while Laygo hit another home run in the bottom of the inning.
 
UR plated four in the bottom of the fourth, tallying four runs on five hits to put the score out of reach of the Pipers. Laygo's two-run homer after a leadoff single by Nicholoff made it 9-1, while Mason's RBI single extended the lead to 10-1 and Lyons' sacrifice fly brought UR's lead out to double digits.
 
Keys then worked a 1-2-3 top of the fifth, striking out a pair to finish off the run-rule-shortened victory.
 
Keys (2-1) earned the win, allowing one run on five hits, striking out a career-high nine batters, while Natalee Boelk (1-1) took the loss for Hamline, allowing seven runs, six earned, on six hits over 3.0 innings pitched.
 
Laygo turned in a sensational day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, two runs scored and six RBI, while Lyons went 1-for-2 with a home run, run scored and four RBI. The first-years combined to drive in 10 of UR's 11 runs, scoring three themselves.
 
Nicholoff and Gorecki also tallied extra-base hits as Rochester scored 11 runs on 11 hits, striking out just once against the Pipers.
 
GAME TWO: Gettysburg 8, Rochester 4
After both the Bullets and 'Jackets left runners on over the first two frames, the Yellowjackets got on the scoreboard first in the top of the third. Laygo's one-out single to left brought up Hannah Keiper, who launched UR's fourth home run of the day to deep center, giving UR an early 2-0 lead.
 
And after Molly Broccolo got Julia Smith to line into a double play to prevent an answer from Gettysburg, Mason led off the fourth with a solo shot to center, the 'Jackets fifth of the day.
 
Mason's home run made it 3-0, and the Yellowjackets would add another in the frame to make it 4-0. After the Bullets made a pitching change, bringing in Megan Hughes to relieve Nikki Caesar, Hunter Gilbreath worked a five-pitch walk and too second on Savannah Nowak's sacrifice bunt. Marie Kinchington, pinch-hitting for Maithili Shah, then laced a double through the left side, scoring Gilbreath to make it a four-run lead.
 
However, the Bullets would take advantage of a pair of Rochester fielding errors in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 4-4. Two singles and a fielding error loaded the bases for Elliana Hopple, but Broccolo got the junior to ground into a fielder's choice to put two outs on the scoreboard. But on the very next pitch, Morgan DeFraitas drove in a pair to make it 2-0 with a single to left center.
 
Next up, Bailey Quinn reached on an error to bring home Hopple and make it 4-3, before Smith tied the game with an RBI single, chasing Broccolo, who was relieved by Maddie White.
 
White got out of the inning with a grounder to third, but after Rochester couldn't answer in the top of the fifth, Lauren O'Leary took White's 1-2 offering deep to center for a two-run blast to give Gettysburg its first lead.
 
In the top of the sixth, Rochester looked to answer, loading the bases on an error, walk and hit-by-pitch, but Hughes struck out Laygo and got Keiper to ground into a fielder's choice to leave the bases loaded, and Gettysburg would add two more in the bottom of the frame and Hughes worked a 1-2-3 top of the seventh to finish off the comeback victory for the Bullets.
 
White (1-1) took the loss for UR, allowing four runs, three earned, on four hits over 2.1 innings pitched, while Hughes (1-0) picked up the win for Gettysburg, allowing one run on two hits.
 
Broccolo got the start for Rochester and allowed four unearned runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings pitched, while Caesar allowed three runs on four hits over 3.0 innings pitched for the Bullets.
 
At the plate, Keiper led Rochester with a 2-for-3 performance, tallying a home run, run scored and two RBI.
 
Following a day off, the Yellowjackets will continue play at The Spring Games against McMurry and Wisconsin Platteville on Wednesday, March 13 beginning at 2:30 p.m. at Sleepy Hollow.