CHESTER, PA – University of Rochester softball kicked off the 2026 season with a pair of wins over Widener University, shutting out the Pride in game one of the doubleheader, 8-0, before topping Widener in game two, 10-3, on Wednesday afternoon at Fred Dohrmann Field. With the doubleheader sweep, the Yellowjackets open the season 2-0, their first 2-0 start since 2017, while the Pride drop to 1-5 with the two losses.
GAME ONE: Rochester 8, Widener 0
After working around a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the first,
Molly Broccolo settled in in the circle and struck out the side in the second, and another two Pride batters in the third.
At the plate, Rochester went down in order the first time through the order, but the second time through against Hayden Sissons, URochester's bats came alive.
Ally Kim led off the fourth with a single and quickly stole second to move into scoring position. And while Sissons retired the next two 'Jackets to put two outs on the board,
Marie Kinchington dropped an RBI single down the right-field line to give Rochester a 1-0 lead.
And after Broccolo worked around a leadoff single to keep Rochester in front in the bottom of the fourth, the 'Jackets added four more to their lead in the top of the fifth, all coming with two outs. Kim again got Rochester going, singling through the right side, stealing second and scoring on
Riley Laygo's RBI single to double the 'Jackets' lead.
Laygo then stole second herself and took third on a wild pitch before
Julianna Lyons brought the junior home with an RBI double to left-center, extending URochester's lead to 3-0. Then, after Kinchington walked,
Rowan Mulholland and
Katelyn Wade laced back-to-back RBI singles to score Lyons and Kinchington and give the Yellowjackets a 5-0 lead.
That'd be all Broccolo would need in the circle, as the senior worked around a two-out walk in the fifth, and a two-out single in the sixth, striking out two more batters to rack up eight strikeouts in her season debut.
Rochester would add three more runs in the top of the seventh on
Jensen Sminchak's two-run triple and Madie Paige's RBI double to make it an 8-0 ballgame, before
Saira Ramakrishnan closed things out with a 1-2-3 seventh.
Broccolo (1-0) earned the win, allowing just three hits over 6.0 innings pitched, walking two and striking out eight, one shy of her career-high. Sissons (0-2) took the loss for Widener, allowing eight runs on 12 hits, walking three and striking out five.
Four different Yellowjackets turned in multi-hit days at the plate, led by Kim, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases, and Lyons, who went 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and RBI.
Sminchak drove in a team-high two runs with her two-run triple, while Paige also added an extra-base hit, going 1-for-1 with a walk and RBI.
GAME TWO: Rochester 10, Widener 3
With a win under their belts, the Yellowjackets settled in and broke through early against Widener, chasing Amanda Danz in the top of the first. Laygo got Rochester started with a single up the middle, and Lyons followed with another single to put two on with just one out.
Lyons then stole second, and Laygo came home on the throw to give Rochester a 1-0 lead, while Mulholland followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Up next, Wade poked a single through the right side and took second on the throw, scoring Lyons and bringing up Sminchak, who cleared the bases with a two-run double to make it 4-0 'Jackets.
The score would stay that way till the bottom of the second, when the Pride pushed a run across, taking advantage of a pair of defensive miscues to cut Rochester's lead to 4-1.
The Yellowjackets would answer back, though, pushing three more runs across in the top of the third to take a 7-1 advantage. Back-to-back walks drawn by Sminchak and
Ilana Weiss put two on with just one out for
Chloe Fitzgerald, who singled up the middle to bring home a run and make it 5-1 'Jackets.
Savanna Hernandez followed with another single, bringing home Weiss to make it 6-1, and after a Pride pitching change, Kim hit another RBI single up the middle to extend URochester's lead to 7-1.
Maddie White then pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the third, but would run into some trouble in the fourth. A pair of singles and a fielder's choice loaded the bases for the Pride with just one out, and on Sissons' fielder's choice back to the shortstop, Widener scored a pair, taking advantage of a throwing error to plate two and cut Rochester's lead to 7-3.
But with runners still at first and second, White got Danz to foul out and Sara Clymer to ground into a fielder's choice, keeping Widener from cutting into the lead any further.
And then after back-to-back scoreless frames in the circle for White, the Yellowjackets put the game on ice in the top of the seventh, tacking on three more runs, starting with Rochester's first home run of the year, a solo shot from Kinchington to left center.
Kinchington's blast made it an 8-3 Rochester lead, and after back-to-back singles by Hernandez and Kim, the 'Jackets executed a double steal and added another run on an error, making it 9-3. Laygo then put the capper on the inning with an RBI double to left, giving URochester a 10-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Ramakrishnan again relieved White, looking to finish off the win, and worked another 1-2-3 frame, closing out the 10-3 victory and doubleheader sweep.
White (1-0) earned the win, allowing three runs, one earned, on five hits, walking one and striking out seven. Danz (0-2) took the loss for Widener, allowing four runs on five hits in just 0.1 of an inning of work.
At the plate, Laygo went 3-for-5 with a double, stolen base, run scored and an RBI, while Kim added another two stolen bases, going 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI.
Hernandez and Mulholland also turned in two-hit days, while Sminchak again led Rochester with a team-high two RBI.
Rochester next heads to Virginia Beach, VA, to open the Cross Bay Bash on Friday, March 13, with a pair of matchups against Southern Virginia at 11:00 a.m. and at No. 1 Virginia Wesleyan at 1:30 p.m.
