TROY, NY – No. 2-seeded University of Rochester softball defeated the No. 1-seeded and 16th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute Engineers, 10-1, in a run-rule-shortened five-innings on Friday at Robison Field to advance to Saturday's Liberty League Championship final.
 
The Yellowjackets got their offense going in a hurry, with Hannah Keiper following Riley Laygo's leadoff single with a four-pitch walk to put two on with nobody out against Brooke Sroczinski. An error allowed Jenna Gorecki to reach and loaded the bases the bases for Bailey Nicholoff, who brought home the game's first run with an RBI single to left.
 
Up next, Jensen Sminchak drew a four-pitch walk to put another run on the board, and while Sroczinski retired the next two to prevent any further damage, Rochester would head into the Bottom of the 1st leading 2-0.
 
RPI got one back in the bottom of the frame, as Erin Askins drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on Alex Ledger's RBI single, but Molly Broccolo induced her third groundout of the inning to strand Ledger at first base, sending the Yellowjackets back to the plate.
 
And with one swing of the bat, UR kept things rolling in the top of the second. Savannah Nowak led off against Sroczinski with a single to center, and just two pitches later, Laygo blasted a two-run homer to right center, extending Rochester's advantage to 4-1.
 
Laygo's home run prompted the Engineers to make a pitching change, bringing in first-year Ava Markert to replace Sroczinski in the circle, and despite allowing a double to Keiper, the first-year got out of the frame without allowing any more damage.
 
RPI then looked to answer in the bottom of the frame, loading the base on a walk and back-to-back singles by Catherine Worthington and Sydney Speanburg, but Broccolo got Askins to ground into a fielder's choice before striking out Evann McDowell to strand all three baserunners and keep the Engineers off the scoreboard.
 
Markert worked the lone 1-2-3 frame of the game for the Engineers in the top of the third, striking out a pair, but Broccolo matched her effort with a 14-pitch frame in the bottom of the inning, and UR would get back to its run-scoring ways in the fourth.
 
Back-to-back hits to lead off the frame, a single by Nowak and a double by Laygo, put two on against Markert, and a batter later, Gorecki made it a 6-1 ballgame with a two-run single to right.
 
The Engineers threatened again versus Broccolo in the bottom of the fourth, putting runners at second and third with just one out following a one-out walk and error, but UR's sophomore starter again worked out of the inning unscathed, getting Worthington out at home on fielder's choice before Askins flew out to strand a pair.
 
Then in the top of the fifth, the Yellowjackets put things out of reach, scoring four runs on five hits as they forced another RPI pitching change. Julianna Lyons got the inning started with a double to left, and a batter later, Lauren Keys brought Lyons home with a pinch-hit RBI single to make it 7-1.
 
Molly Mason re-entered to replace Keys at first base and took third on Nowak's third hit of the game, a single to center before a wild pitch brought Mason home, extending UR's lead to 8-1.
 
Laygo then just missed her second home run of the game, doubling to left to score Nowak and make it a 9-1 lead, while after a walk and infield fly, Nicholoff knocked in another run with an RBI single to center, giving the Yellowjackets a 10-1 lead headed to the bottom of the fifth.
 
Maddie White relieved Broccolo in the circle to start the fifth, and despite a leadoff double by Emma Newberry, White struck out a pair to finish off the run-rule victory and send Rochester to Saturday's Championship Final.
 
Broccolo (14-4) earned the win, allowing just one run on three hits, walking three, and striking out two over 4.0 innings pitched. Sroczinski (16-2) took the loss for RPI, allowing four runs on four hits over an inning of work.
 
For Rochester, White struck out two and allowed one hit over an inning of relief, while Markert allowed five runs on seven hits over 3.1 innings pitched for RPI and Cooke allowed one run on two hits over two-thirds of an inning pitched.
 
At the plate, Laygo went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, four runs scored and three RBI, while Nowak went 3-for-3 with three runs scored. Nicholoff also notched multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Keiper and Lyons added UR two other extra-base hits, each notching a double.
 
The Yellowjackets advance to Saturday's Championship Game, needing just one win to clinch their fourth-straight Liberty League crown. UR will face the winner of game five, a matchup of No. 1-seeded RPI and the winner of game four, No. 3-seeded Ithaca vs. No. 4-seeded RIT, at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, with the if necessary game to follow, if needed, at approximately 2:00 p.m.