Waltham, Mass. – Sophomores Barb Shea (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and Morgan Edmondson (Johnson City, N.Y./Johnson City) each had five hits and two runs scored to lead the Le Moyne College softball team to a doubleheader sweep of Bentley on Saturday afternoon at the Bentley field. The Dolphins took the opener, 7-2, and posted a 9-6 victory in the nightcap.
The Dolphins opened the scoring in game one by scoring once on two hits. Senior second baseman Kelly Schweikert (Rochester, N.Y./Spencerport) doubled to left field with two outs and came around to score on a single to center by Edmondson.
After the Falcons evened the score in the second inning on run-scoring double by Taylor Feery, the Dolphins blew the game open with six runs on seven hits and one error in the third frame. Sophomore third baseman Kelcie Cashel (Lacona, N.Y./Sandy Creek) led off with a single and proceeded to steal second base. Following a ground out, Schweikert singled to left to plate Cashel from third. After Schweikert stole second, Edmondson singled to center to knock in Schweikert. Two batters later, Shea singled to left to plate Edmondson from third. After senior right fielder Danielle VanGorder (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) reached on an error by the third baseman, junior center fielder Amanda Daum (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) tripled to right field to drive in Shea and VanGorder. Following a Bentley pitching change, sophomore pinch-hitter Amanda Mosich (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan Academy) singled to center to plate Daum with the final run of the frame.
Bentley got one run back in the bottom of the fifth inning, but could not get any closer. Jasmine Ortiz singled with one out and stole second following a pop out. Megan Blier then doubled to drive in Ortiz.
Junior righty Jenna Vanacore (Hicksville, N.Y./Holy Trinity) registered her 11th win of the year after scattering six hits over five innings, while striking out four batters and yielding two runs. Ashley Messina took the loss after giving up seven runs (five earned) on eight hits in two and two-thirds innings. Cashel, Schweikert, Edmondson and Shea each had two hits in the contest.
The Falcons got on the board first in the nightcap with two runs on three innings in first inning. Laura McDonough singled to left with one out and moved to second on a passed ball two batters later. Christine D'Amico then singled to center to drive in McDonough. Meghan Carter followed with a single to left to knock in D'Amico.
The Dolphins took the lead in the top of the second with four runs on four hits and a Bentley error. Edmondson and freshman designated player Demetra Kermidas (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley) led off with singles, with Edmondson scoring from second on a throwing error by the first baseman on the single by Kermidas. Following a single by Shea and a fly out, Daum recorded her second triple of the afternoon to drive in Kermidas and Shea. Mosich then flied out to right field to drive in Daum with a sac fly.
Bentley evened the score at four with two runs on two hits and a Le Moyne error in the bottom of the frame. Afton Dean singled to left to lead off the inning and moved to second on a sac bunt. Following a line out, a walk by Ortiz and a passed ball that allowed Dean to advance to third, Ortiz stole second and moved to third on an error by the second baseman, which allowed Dean to score. McDonough then doubled to left to knock in Ortiz.
Le Moyne took the lead for good with three runs on four hits in the fifth inning. Cashel singled to left field and scored two batters later on a triple to center by Schweikert. Edmondson followed with a single to center to drive in Schweikert for the third time on the afternoon. After Kermidas reached on a fielder's choice and stole second, Shea singled to right field to score Kermidas.
The Falcons pulled within 7-6 in the bottom of the inning on one hit. Blier doubled and D'Amico walked to open the frame before moving up a base each on a sac bunt. Blier then scored as Lindsay Ayers reached on a fielder's choice. Following a pop out, D'Amico stole home on a double steal with pinch-runner Stephanie Kasson.
The Dolphins scored the final two runs of the contest on five hits in the final inning. Senior left fielder Bailey Phillips (Rochester, N.Y./Greece-Arcadia) led off with an inside-the-park home run to left field. Schweikert followed with a single to the shortstop and scored on a double to center by Edmondson. Following a fly out and a single to center by Shea, VanGorder singled to left field, but sophomore pinch-runner Kate Waltman (Alplaus, N.Y./Niskayuna) was thrown out trying to score from second base.
Vanacore earned her second victory of the day by tossing the final three innings of the game and registering three strikeouts. Tara Fogarty took the loss after allowing nine runs on 14 hits in seven innings. Shea and Edmondson each had three hits in the game, while Schweikert and Daum had two apiece.
Le Moyne (20-18, NE-10 18-10), which closes out the regular season at Stonehill on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., will clinch the third seed in next weekend's Northeast-10 Conference tournament with at least one win over the Skyhawks.
