CORTLAND, NY –
Molly Broccolo pitched the 10th no-hitter in program history in game one as the University of Rochester softball swept its non-conference doubleheader against SUNY Cortland on Tuesday afternoon at Dragon Field. The Yellowjackets topped the Red Dragons, 10-0, in a run-rule-shortened five innings in game one and finished off the sweep with an 8-2 victory in game two. With the two wins, Rochester moves to 27-7 on the year, while the Red Dragons drop to 19-14.
Game 1: Rochester 10, SUNY Cortland 0 (5 inn.)
Despite yielding a leadoff walk to Katie Stork in the bottom of the first, Broccolo would retire the next six Red Dragons she faced, getting Morgan Ellerbrock to ground into a double play to end the first, and striking out a pair in the second.
In the third, two batters reached on a pair of defensive miscues, but the 'Jackets got Kayla Pendergast out at home trying to score from second to keep the shutout alive.
Then, in the top of the fourth, Rochester would break through, taking advantage of two Red Dragon fielding errors to plate four runs on four hits.
Julianna Lyons and
Jensen Sminchak led off the inning with back-to-back singles, before a fielder's choice and fielding error allowed
Chloe Fitzgerald, who pinch-ran for Lyons, to come around to score.
Up next,
Marie Kinchington extended the 'Jackets' lead to 3-0 with a two-run double to left center, while after the Red Dragons made a pitching change,
Madi Paige's infield single brought home another run to make it 4-0.
After Broccolo worked around another walk in the bottom of the fourth, Rochester would tack on six more in the top of the fifth. The 'Jackets loaded the bases on three-straight walks by Lyons, Sminchak and
Katelyn Wade, before another walk drawn by Kinchington brought home Lyons, extending URochester's lead to 5-0.
A batter later, Paige singled through the left side to bring home another run and make it 6-0, before
Riley Laygo cleared the bases with a grand slam, Rochester's third grand slam of the year, to cap off the six-run frame and push Rochester's lead to double digits.
And with the run-rule in play, Broccolo quickly set down the Red Dragons in order in the bottom of the frame to finish off the no-hitter, the second of her career, and give Rochester a 10-0 victory.
Broccolo (15-4) earned the win, walking two and striking out three over five innings pitched, while Olivia DiSalvo (8-4) took the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits over 3.0 innings pitched.
Paige had two hits to lead Rochester at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a run scored and two RBI, while Sminchak and Wade each scored a team-high two runs.
Kinchington went 1-for-2 with a double, walk, run scored and three RBI, and Laygo went 1-for-3 with a home run, run scored and four RBI.
Game 2: Rochester 8, SUNY Cortland 2
Following a pair of 1-2-3 frames from
Maddie White and Gianna Endieveri in the first, Wade gave Rochester a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the top of the second.
Rowan Mulholland made it 2-0 with an RBI double in the top of the third, scoring Laygo after her one-out triple, while Rochester tacked on two more to make it 4-0 in the fourth.
Wade again got Rochester's offense going in the inning with a double, while Kinchington followed with an RBI single, scoring Wade to make it 3-0. Then, after Fitzgerald pinch-ran for Kinchington and took third on
Ilana Weiss' sacrifice bunt, Paige brought home another run with a sacrifice fly to left, extending the Yellowjackets' lead to four.
Cortland would get two runs back in the bottom of the fifth on Laila Smith's two-out, two-run homer, but the 'Jackets would answer back with four runs in the top of the sixth.
Sminchak led off the inning with a single, and Wade followed with an RBI double, scoring Sminchak from first to make it 5-2. Kinchington's RBI single then made it 6-0, while after a Cortland pitching change, RBI singles by Laygo and Mulholland pushed URochester's lead to 8-2.
That'd be all White, and
Saira Ramakrishnan needed, as White set down four of the next five she faced after the two-run homer by Smith to finish off her quality start, while Ramakrishnan stranded a runner and pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh to close out the Yellowjackets' 8-2 victory.
White (9-3) earned the win, allowing two runs on eight hits, striking out seven over 6.0 innings pitched. Endieveri (8-7) took the loss for SUNY Cortland, allowing eight runs, seven earned, on 11 hits, walking two and striking out two over 5.0 innings pitched.
Six Yellowjackets had multi-hit days, led by Wade, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, three runs scored and two RBI.
Kinchington and Mulholland each added two RBI along with their two hits, while Laygo, Sminchak and Weiss also turned in multi-hit performances.
Rochester will wrap up non-conference play on Thursday, April 30, with a doubleheader against Hamilton College at Southside Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
