SEGUIN, TX – 24th-ranked University of Rochester softball dropped a pair of close contests to the 8th-ranked Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs, 4-1 and 6-5 (9 inn.), to open their spring trip on Monday evening at Ed Kruse Stadium. The two losses drop Rochester to 1-5 on the year, while the Bulldogs remain unbeaten at 16-0 to start the season.
 
GAME ONE: #8 Texas Lutheran 4, #24 Rochester 1
Both the Yellowjackets and Bulldogs would leave runners on over the first two frames before UR would strike first in the top of the third. A walk, single and groundout put runners at second and third for UR in the top of the first, but Amanda White got another groundout to end the threat.
 
While in the bottom of the inning, Molly Broccolo worked around a pair of base runners, getting Faith Hernandez to ground out to strand a pair. Broccolo then stranded two more with a strikeout of Caelee Clark in the bottom of the second, bringing the 'Jackets to the plate, where they'd take the lead in the third.
 
White retired the first batter to start the inning, but Riley Laygo took the senior's next pitch out to left center for a solo home run, giving the Yellowjackets an early 1-0 advantage.
 
Rochester's lead would hold till the bottom of the fourth when the Bulldogs would stretch a run across against Broccolo. Hernandez drew a five-pitch walk to lead off the frame, stole second and took third on Harleigh Russell's bunt single before coming around to score on Linzee Leal's fielder's choice to tie the game at one.
 
Then after the 'Jackets went in order to start the fifth, Texas Lutheran scored three runs to take the lead in the bottom of the frame. Two singles and an error allowed the Bulldogs to load the bases for Hernandez, who drew another five-pitch walk to give TLU the lead.
 
Broccolo got Tavery Ortiz to ground into a fielder's choice for the first out of the inning, but back-to-back RBI singles made it a 4-1 Bulldogs' lead, before Maddie White, who relieved Broccolo midway through the inning, got a pair of flyouts to get out of the inning without any more damage.
 
UR looked to respond in the top of the sixth, putting runners at first and second with just one out, but Ainsley Davis relieved White and worked out of the jam to keep TLU in front, 4-1.
 
Davis then worked around a leadoff hit-by-pitch in the top of the seventh to close out the 4-1 victory for the Bulldogs, getting a lineout to seal the three-run victory.
 
Broccolo (1-2) took the loss for Rochester, allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits, walking two and striking out three over 4.1 innings pitched. White (7-0) earned the win, allowing one run on four hits over 5.1 innings pitched, while Davis picked up the save, finishing off the contest with a scoreless 1.2 innings pitched.
 
Laygo led UR at the plate, going 1-for-4 with a solo home run, while Jenna Gorecki, Lauren Keys and Rowan Mulholland each went 1-for-3.
 
GAME TWO: #8 Texas Lutheran 6, #24 Rochester 5 (9 INN.)
After a pair of scoreless frames, Texas Lutheran would take the lead in the bottom of the third. Taylor Vannett got the Bulldogs' offense rumbling with a one-out triple to right, and Linzee Leal followed with a double to left to bring home Vannett and give TLU a 1-0 lead. Leal then stole third and after Clark drew a walk, Leal and Clark executed a double steal to extend the lead to 2-0.
 
Rochester came right back to answer in the top of the fourth, as Mulholland smacked a leadoff single to right to start things off. Keys moved Mulholland into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, and a batter later, Julianna Lyons sliced an RBI single to right to score Mulholland and pull the 'Jackets within a run.
 
UR then loaded the bases on a walk and hit-by-pitch, but Davis, who relieved Katelyn Howard after the walk, worked out of the jam with a fielder's choice to prevent any more damage.
 
Keys then worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth, to keep Texas Lutheran from answering back, but after the 'Jackets went in order in the fifth, TLU added to their lead in the bottom of the frame. Back-to-back singles by Russell and Vannett made it a 3-1 Bulldogs' advantage, but Maddie White relieved Keys and kept the Bulldogs from pushing any more runs across, getting Vannett out at home to send things to the sixth.
 
After a scoreless sixth, Rochester headed to the seventh in need of two runs to tie, and quickly threatened, putting runners at second and third with nobody out after a Bailey Nicholoff drew a hit-by-pitch, and Laygo followed with a double to left center.
 
Amanda White got the next batter to lineout right back up the middle, but Gorecki's RBI groundout scored Nicholoff and made it 3-2, while Mulholland reached on an error to bring Laygo home and tie the score at three.
 
TLU then threatened to walk things off in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out, but White got a pair of lineouts before retiring Mia Landry to strand all three base runners and send the game into extra innings.
 
Both teams went in order in the eighth, while UR would score a pair in the top of the ninth. Nicholoff moved Jensen Smichak over to third with a sacrifice bunt, and TLU intentionally walked Laygo to put runners at the corners. Savannah Nowak then smacked an RBI single to left to make it 4-3, and Gorecki followed with a sacrifice fly to left to score Laygo and extend UR's lead to 5-3.
 
However, the Bulldogs would answer back in the bottom half of the frame, pushing a run across on Vannett's RBI single, before a catcher's interference call and a bases-loaded walk gave TLU a 6-5, extra-innings victory.
 
White (0-3) took the loss for Rochester, allowing three runs, two earned, over 4.1 innings pitched, while Amanda White (8-0) picked up another win for TLU, allowing four runs, two earned on three hits over 4.0 innings pitched.
 
Lyons and Nowak each had two hits to lead UR at the plate, while Laygo scored two runs and Sminchak walked twice.
 
The Yellowjackets continue their spring trip on Tuesday, March 11 with a doubleheader against Southwestern (TX) in Georgetown, TX beginning at 5:00 p.m. CT.