Syracuse, N.Y. – A three-run home run off the bat of freshman second baseman Jillian McManus (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) started off the Le Moyne College softball team's cruise to a 6-0 victory over The College of St. Rose Wednesday afternoon at Niland Athletic Complex.
 
The homer in the second inning was McManus' first of her career. Freshman first baseman Peyton Bellrose (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) finished 2-3 at the plate with a double, crossing the plate twice and knocking in one.
 
Junior pitcher Alexis Eastman (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) started on the mound for the Dolphins and went the distance, recording eight strikeouts and allowing just two hits and three walks. She faced 26 batters through her seven innings, just five batters over the minimum. Dana Nicoletti took the loss for the Golden Knights after yielding six runs on six hits over six innings.
 
Two innings after McManus' blast, the rest of Le Moyne's offense began production. The first two batters in the bottom of the fifth, Bellrose and sophomore right fielder Madison DeRita (Higganum, Conn./Mercy), reached on singles. Bellrose would go on to score on a botched throw by the Golden Knights' third baseman. Two batters later, sophomore left fielder Lauren Zazzaro (Southington, Conn./Southington) hustled around the bases on a soft line drive that split the center and right fielders—her ninth double on the season. The hit brought in the Dolphins fifth run of the game.
 
Scoring was capped off in the bottom of the fifth after Bellrose blasted the ball to straight away center—just feet away from going over the fence. The St. Rose centerfielder was able to get a glove on it but impact with the fence knocked the ball loose. Senior center fielder Sabrina Riley (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) scored from first base after walking with one out. That RBI accounted for the Dolphins sixth and final run of the game. The shutout from Eastman made the final score 6-0.
 
Le Moyne improved to 24-16 on the season, 8-9 in the Northeast-10 and 7-8 against Southwest division opponents. Saint Rose falls to 10-22, 8-10 in the NE10 and 7-8 in the division.
 
Up next, Le Moyne will end the regular season with its final division series this weekend at home against the University of New Haven. A doubleheader is set to be played on Friday beginning at 2 p.m. and then a single game the following day beginning at noon.