University of Rochester softball swept its doubleheader against the Hamilton College Continentals to wrap up its non-conference slate on Thursday at Southside Field. The Yellowjackets scored seven runs in both contests, taking game one 7-2, and game two, 7-4. With the two wins, Rochester moves to 29-7 ahead of their final regular-season tilt on Saturday, while Hamilton drops to 9-26 on the year.
Game 1: Rochester 7, Hamilton 2
Molly Broccolo took the ball in game one for URochester and worked around a leadoff single, sending the 'Jackets to the plate in the bottom of the first, where they'd quickly take the lead.
Ally Kim drew a leadoff walk and stole second, while a batter later,
Rowan Mulholland reached on an infield single, putting runners on first and second with just one out.
Julianna Lyons followed with a single right back up the middle to bring up the first run of the game, while after
Katelyn Wade walked,
Marie Kinchington brought home two more with a two-run single through the right side.
Ilana Weiss then made it 4-0 with another RBI single, giving URochester a 4-0 lead after one.
The Yellowjackets would tack on another run on
Riley Laygo's RBI double in the second, scoring Kim after the junior drew another leadoff walk, and then two more in the bottom of the third.
Hamilton made a pitching change to start the inning, bringing in Aubrey Purvis in relief of Yael Everett, but a walk and a single, followed by Kim's two-run double, extended the 'Jackets' lead to 7-0.
Purvis, though, would prevent Rochester from extending its lead to eight with a strikeout to end the frame, and then pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth to keep the 'Jackets off the scoreboard once again.
Saira Ramakrishnan relieved Broccolo to start the fifth and worked out of a bases-loaded jam without allowing a run, but the first-year would again run into some trouble in the sixth.
The Continentals loaded the bases against Ramakrishnan with a single, double and walk, forcing
Abby Hurley-Martin to make another call to the bullpen and bring in
Quin Caretti.
Caretti got the first out of the inning on a sacrifice fly, bringing home Hamilton's first run of the game, while a walk reloaded the bases for Purvis, who helped herself out with an RBI single to right, cutting URochester's lead to 7-2. Caretti, though, got out of the inning with a flyout to right, and then pitched a scoreless seventh to close things out for the Yellowjackets.
Broccolo (16-4) earned the win, allowing just four hits and striking out six over 4.0 scoreless frames, while Everett (5-13) took the loss for Hamilton, allowing five runs on six hits, walking three and striking out two over 2.0 innings pitched.
Laygo, Lyons and Weiss all had two-hit days at the plate, while Kim drew a pair of walks and went 1-for-2 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI.
Game 2: Rochester 7, Hamilton 4
Rochester would again strike first with two runs in the bottom of the first, as doubles by Kim, Laygo and Sminchak gave URochester a 2-0 lead. However, Everett relieved Purvis and stranded a pair, and the Continentals would take their first lead of the contest in the top of the second.
Nikki Dyche led off the second and launched the first pitch she saw from
Maddie White over the right-field fence for a home run, cutting the Yellowjackets' lead to just one. Miranda Mosqueda then drew a seven-pitch walk, while White struck out Juliana Abraham, but a single and double steal by Mosqueda and Alison Zorn tied the game up at two.
White got another strikeout, this time Sofia Santana swinging, but an infield single and a wild pitch brought another run around to score, giving the Continentals their first lead of the day, 3-2.
The Yellowjackets, though, would quickly respond in the bottom of the frame, as Weiss beat out an infield single, took second on
Chloe Fitzgerald's sacrifice bunt and came around to score on Kim's RBI single to tie the score at three.
A walk and a hit-by-pitch then loaded the bases, and while Everett got Lyons to strikeout, Sminchak's eight-pitch walk gave the 'Jackets a 4-3 lead. Everett would get out of the inning without allowing another run, stranding the bases loaded.
Rochester would load the bases again in the bottom of the third on singles by Weiss, Fitzgerald and Laygo, and scored another run to make it 5-3 on Mulholland's bases-loaded walk. But again, Everett limited the damage, getting a groundout to leave the bases loaded, three of 12 runners the 'Jackets left on base in game two.
Another leadoff home run, this one from Abraham, cut Rochester's lead back down to one, while Everett settled down and worked a 1-2-3 fourth to keep the deficit at just a run through four.
Molly Broccolo relieved White to start the fifth and matched Everett with a 1-2-3 frame, getting a trio of groundouts to send the 'Jackets back to the plate.
In the bottom of the fifth, Rochester would push across two more, with a double steal from Kim and Laygo extending URochester's lead to 6-4, while a perfectly-placed squeeze bunt by Lyons scored Laygo from third to make it 7-4.
Broccolo cruised through the sixth, but would run into a bit of trouble in the seventh, with the game-tying run coming to the plate after Sammy Morris beat out an infield single, and a batter later, Alexis Mayer doubled. However, Broccolo got Rogers to ground out to end the threat, nailing down the save to give Rochester a 7-4 victory and doubleheader sweep.
White (10-3) picked up the win, allowing four runs on five hits, walking one and striking out four over 4.0 innings pitched. Broccolo (2) notched the save, allowing two hits and striking out two over 3.0 innings pitched.
For Hamilton, Everett (5-14) again took the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits, walking six and striking out two over 5.2 innings pitched.
Kim had another impressive game at the plate, falling a home run short of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with a double, triple, three runs scored and one RBI. Weiss had another multi-hit day, going 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Laygo went 2-for-2 with two walks, a double, two runs scored and an RBI.
The Yellowjackets will wrap up the regular season on Saturday, May 2, when they host Ithaca for a Liberty League doubleheader at Southside Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
