SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Junior Caylinn Christophersen (Norwich, N.Y./Norwich) pitched a complete game one-hitter to lead Le Moyne to a Northeast-10 Conference softball doubleheader split with Merrimack. The Warriors won game one 10-3, but the Dolphins took game two 6-0. Le Moyne moves to 26-13 on the season, 19-4 in the Northeast-10 Conference.
In the opening game, Merrimack loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning and took a 1-0 lead on a walk. The Warriors added two more runs in the second inning on two Dolphin errors. The Dolphins cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run single up the middle by Jennifer Farrelly (Latham, N.Y./Shaker). Merrimack tacked on one run in top of the fourth, three in the sixth, and three in the seventh to take a 10-2 lead. The Dolphins loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, but were only able to push across one run before Merrimack ended the rally with a double play. Kristen DesLauriers (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) drove in Lindsay Spaziani (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) from third base to plate the final Dolphin run.
Farrelly suffered her fourth loss of the season allowing four runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out six batters over five innings.
In game two, Spaziani belted her sixth home run of the season to left center to lead off of the bottom of the first inning. Lyndsey Balinskas (Edison, N.J./Edison) followed with a single to center and Bailey Phillips (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Arcadia) reached on a fielding error to give the Dolphins runners on first and third with no outs. Two batters later, Farrelly blasted a line drive down the left field line to plate Balinskas from third. Caitlin O'Neill (Pittsford, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy) picked up an RBI after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Phillips.
Le Moyne added another run in the bottom of the third on a run-scoring single to left field by Kortney Meadows (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) to score Emma Murphy (East Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse-Minoa). DesLauriers smacked her sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth to deliver the Dolphins final two runs.
Christophersen picked up her team-leading eighth win of the season by going all seven innings allowing only a single in the fifth inning. She struck out seven Warrior batters while walking only one.
The Dolphins return to action on Sunday against UMass-Lowell for Senior Day at 12 p.m. The game will be broadcast live throughout central and northern New York on Time Warner Sports 26.