GEORGETOWN, TX – University of Rochester softball shut out Southwestern (TX) University, 8-0, in game one, before falling, 3-1, to the Pirates in game two to split their second of four doubleheaders in Texas on Tuesday evening at Taylor-Sanders Field. With the split, Rochester moves to 2-6 on the year, while the Pirates now sit at 10-9.
 
GAME ONE: Rochester 8, Southwestern (TX) 0
Rochester would jump out in front in a hurry on the Pirates, scoring one run in the first before tacking on two more in the second. Riley Laygo led off the top of the first inning with a first-pitch double to center and moved to third on Savannah Nowak's grounder to second before coming home on Rowan Mulholland's infield single to give UR a 1-0 lead.
 
Molly Broccolo struck out a pair, working around a two-out baserunner in the bottom of the frame, before Rochester got back at it offensively in the top of the second.
 
With one out, Molly Mason singled to center, and Jensen Sminchak reached on a fielder's choice to put two on for Bailey Nicholoff. Another fielder's choice put runners at the corner for Laygo, who roped a two-run double to left center, scoring both Mason and Nicholoff to extend the Yellowjackets' lead to 3-0.
 
With a three-run lead, Broccolo kept things rolling in the circle, working around a two-out single in the second and a leadoff single in the third, before getting Emily Nevarez to ground into a double play after a one-out single by Daniella Clark in the bottom of the fourth.
 
The Yellowjackets broke through again in the top of the fifth, as Laygo again got UR's offense clicking with a leadoff double. With Nowak at the plate, Laygo stole third, and after Nowak reached on a dropped third strike, Jenna Gorecki blasted a three-run homer to left center, doubling the 'Jackets' lead.
 
Southwestern then made a pitching change, bringing in Cora Sepulvado to relieve Sophia Ytuarte, but a batter later, Marie Kinchington launched another home run to make it 7-0.
 
The Pirates looked to respond in the bottom of the fifth, putting the first two runners on and forcing UR to make a call to the bullpen, bringing in Maddie White to relieve Broccolo, but the White worked out of the jam, retiring the next three batters, including a strikeout of Darby Burke looking, to strand a pair.
 
Rochester would add one more run in the top of the seventh on Katelyn Wade's pinch-hit, solo home run, and White would close out the 8-0 victory with a 1-2-3 bottom of the frame, finishing off the shutout victory.
 
Broccolo (2-4) earned the win, allowing just four hits while striking out four over 4.0 innings pitched, while White (1) picked up a save, pitching three scoreless frames in relief. Ytuarte (4-5) took the loss for Southwestern (TX), allowing six runs, five earned, on seven hits over 4.0 innings pitched.
 
Laygo led UR at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three doubles, two runs scored and two RBI, while Mulholland went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Gorecki drove in three with a home run, going 1-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI.
 
GAME TWO: Southwestern 3, Rochester 1
Both teams would leave runners on over the first two frames before Laygo again got Rochester's offense going in the top of the third. Lauren Keys got the start and struck out a pair over the first and second innings for UR, while Madison Vela worked around a leadoff baserunner in the second for Southwestern.
 
Vela then retired the first two Yellowjackets to start the third, but the UR lineup turned over and Laygo blasted a solo homer over the centerfield wall, giving the Yellowjackets a 1-0 advantage.
 
However, the Pirates would answer right back in the bottom of the frame. Julyssa Hernandez doubled to left center to leadoff the frame, and Erica Otto followed with a sacrifice bunt to move Hernandez to third. Keys got Jodi Glenn-Millhouse to foul out to left, but Emery Bell poked a single to left, scoring Hernandez to level the score at one-all.
 
Rochester looked to answer back in the top of the fourth, but Mulholland was thrown out at home trying to score from first on Julianna Lyons' single to left, keeping the 'Jackets from retaking the lead.
 
Southwestern then took its first lead of the night in the bottom of the frame. Tauryn Alexander led off the inning with another double, took second on Clark's sacrifice and scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1 in favor of the Pirates.
 
UR would put two on with two outs in the top of the fifth as they looked to respond with back-to-back singles from Maithili Shah and Laygo, but Vela escaped the inning unscathed, getting Nowak to lineout right back to the pitcher.
 
Broccolo relieved Keys to start the bottom of the fifth and struck out a pair en route to a scoreless frame, keeping UR within one. But once again, the Yellowjackets rally sputtered in the top of the sixth when Vela got a double play to erase a leadoff single and send things to the bottom of the frame.
 
The Pirates would tack on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases on a pair of singles and walk before an errant throw on Hernandez's fielder's choice allowed a run to come into score, doubling Southwestern's lead to 3-1. And while UR would bring the game-tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh with a one-out walk, Vela against shut down the 'Jackets rally getting a pair of groundouts to finish off the 3-1 victory.
 
Vela (4-4) earned the win for Southwestern, allowing one run on seven hits over 7.0 innings pitched, while Keys (0-1) took the loss, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out four over 4.0 innings pitched. Broccolo allowed an unearned run in relief, striking out three over 2.0 innings pitched.
 
Gorecki and Laygo each had two hits to lead UR at the plate, with Laygo scoring UR's lone run, going 2-for-3 with a home run, run scored and RBI.
 
The Yellowjackets next square off with Trinity (TX) University in a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 12 beginning at 5:00 p.m. CT in San Antonio, TX.