The University of Rochester softball team, led by pitchers Molly Broccolo and Maddie White, earned a pair of non-conference wins, defeating Buffalo State 4-0 and 1-0, on Thursday afternoon at Southside Field.
 
UR's two shutouts, the sixth and seventh of the season for the 'Jacket pitching staff, pushes Rochester's record to 19-9 overall on the season. The Yellowjackets extend their winning streak to six straight and finish the 2025 regular season a perfect 12-0 at home.
 
Visiting Buffalo State (16-14) was held to just six hits on the day, with Broccolo spinning a 4-hitting in the opener. White was even more effective in game two, tossing a 7-inning, 2-hit shutout.
 
Up next, Rochester hits the road for its final six games of the regular season, starting with a big conference doubleheader on Sunday at Ithaca, with games at 1 and 3 pm.
 
Game 1: Rochester 4, Buffalo State 0
In the opener, looked to jump on the Bengals early, with senior Bailey Nicholoff leading off the game with a double to right center before moving up to third on a pitch in the dirt. With the runner on third and nobody out, Buffalo State starter Madison Lucas was able to escape the jam by getting two strikeouts and a ground out.
 
A leadoff single for Buffalo State in the second inning was stranded at second base after a sacrifice bunt, with that being just one of two runners to reach scoring position for the Bengals.
 
Rochester was able to break through for the games opening run in the bottom of the third. Jensen Sminchak led off with a single to left and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Sara Mazur. Nicholoff singled to left, putting runners at the corners, and a fielders choice ground out by Riley Laygo allowed Sminchak to come home, putting UR on top 1-0.
 
In the fourth, the Yellowjackets doubled the lead on a Molly Mason RBI single up the middle and later benefitted from a Bengal fielding error to score to more runs, boosting the lead to 4-0.
 
Broccolo kept rolling along, retiring ten straight batters until the fifth inning when Buffalo State had its best offensive threat. With one out, Lexi Quagliana reached on an infield single. The next hitter, Natalie Burck singled to left, putting two runners on. The UR right-hander regained her composure to strike out the next batter and then get a ground out to end the frame.
 
UR threatened with Laygo and Jenna Gorecki wrapping singles in the fifth inning, but both were stranded on base.
 
In the circle, Broccolo set down the Bengals 1-2-3 in both the sixth and seventh to secure her third solo shutout of the season. She struck out four and walked none, moving her record to 12-3 on the year.
 
Nicholoff was the lone batter for either team to finish with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a double, her tenth of the season. She now has 50 in her career, just three behind Jena Robertson for the Rochester all-time record.
 
For Buffalo State, Lucas went three innings in the circle and took the loss, allowing just three hits and one run, striking out three. Ella Susi relieved and surrendered four hits and three runs (1 earned) over three innings.
 
Game 2: Rochester 1, Buffalo State 0
The night cap was a battle on the rubber between White and Buffalo State's Izzy Pezdek, with just seven hits combined from both teams.
 
Julianna Lyons was the offensive star for Rochester, finishing 3-for-3 with two doubles and the only run batted in of the game.
 
After both pitchers fired perfect innings in the first, Buffalo State got the first base runner on in the second with Burck singling to right with two outs. White induced a grounder to Lyons at third to end the inning.
 
Later in the second, Lyons was UR's first base hit of the contest with a single to left, but a foul out and strike out left her standing at first.
 
In the third, Nicholoff laced a hard infield single to third with two outs and Laygo followed by reaching on a dropped fly ball to left field, but both were stranded on base in what proved to be UR's second best scoring chance of the game.
 
White pitched around a one-out base runners in the fourth and fifth innings and after a 1-2-3 sixth, Rochester was able to push the only run of the game across in its half.
 
After Laygo flied out to start the inning, Rowan Mulholland laced a hard hit single to left. Maithili Shah pinch ran and stole second after a strikeout, reaching scoring position with two outs. Lyons followed by coming up with a clutch RBI bloop double down the right field line to plate Shah and break the scoreless draw.
 
In the seventh, White finished off her dominant effort, setting down the Bengals in order on just five pitches.
 
White's solo shutout was the first for the junior this season and the fourth of her career. She was recently named Liberty League Pitcher of the Week for her strong performance last weekend against RPI and Skidmore in the circle.
 
In the loss, Pezdek tossed a 6-inning complete game for the Bengals, allowing just five hits and no walks, striking out two.