Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College softball team claimed their second NE10 doubleheader sweep in as many days with a pair of wins over Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon at the Le Moyne Softball Complex. The Dolphins are now 5-5 against NE10 competition, and 4-0 on their home field.

Le Moyne swept New Haven on Friday by scores of 9-6 and 13-7, and on Saturday they bested SCSU 2-1 in game one before claiming a 10-2 victory in six innings during the second half of the doubleheader.

"I'm really proud of the way our team is working together to secure wins," said Le Moyne head coach Tracey Roman after the games on Saturday. "Our success this weekend was built largely on the selflessness of every non-starter on our squad who stepped up to do whatever was asked of them in critical moments, even if that role resulted in less personal playing time for them. Staying engaged and committing fully to the roles being asked of us is a choice, and no easy task. We have players keeping themselves ready to go for hours, stepping up to pinch hit, pitch, run bases and play defense whenever asked, and contributing in huge ways. These athletes don't just talk about teamwork, they emulate it every single day. The cohesiveness of our team is impressive and largely responsible for our success this weekend," Roman added.

Redshirt-sophomore right-hander Laura Bennett (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post) allowed just two hits and one run with seven strikeouts in game one to record her 14^th complete game and 10^th victory of the season. Bennett's 14 complete games is the highest total among NE10 pitchers, and she is third in the league in wins. Bennett then pitched one inning in relief during game two against the Owls, during which she recorded her 400th career strikeout, becoming just the fifth player in program history to record at least 400 career Ks.

Sophomore right fielder Alyssa Dybacz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Charles W. Baker) played a major role in manufacturing both of Le Moyne's runs during game one.

Dybacz, who extended her hitting streak to 13 games during Saturday's sweep, hit a leadoff double to the left-center field wall in the bottom of the third, then advanced to third base on a ball in the dirt, and crossed the plate following a one-out ground out to the right side of the infield from Audrey Benderski (Spring Lake Park, Minn./Spring Lake Park).

After SCSU tied the game in the top of the fourth on a Jacqueline Dumont solo home run (her 5^th of the season, tying Le Moyne's Frankie Larobardiere for second most in the NE10), Dybacz delivered another double in the bottom of the fifth, this time driving in senior center fielder Isabelle Boudreau (Memramcook, New Brunswick/Mathieu-Martin/Pace) all the way from first base to put the 'Phins back on top for good.

Bennett allowed just one hit during the fifth, sixth and seventh frames combined to close out the win.

SCSU senior right-hander Jessica Perucki delivered a great performance in the circle herself during the game one battle, allowing just six hits, three walks and two runs with eight strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work.

Boudreau, who recorded two of Le Moyne's hits in game one, improved her batting average to .396 (8^th in NE10) following a stellar weekend at the plate. Le Moyne's leadoff hitter has recorded a hit in each of the last six games, and provided two hits in both wins over SCSU after contributing a combined five hits during the New Haven sweep. Over Le Moyne's last eight conference games, Boudreau has gone a combined 14-24 at the plate (.583 average).

Boudreau now has the second most hits in the conference with 40, while Dybacz is tied for fourth among NE10 players with 37 hits through 31 games this season. 

Eight different Le Moyne hitters recorded an RBI during the game two win on Saturday.

Rookie catcher/infielder Alexandra Chesney (Malverne, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) recorded her first and second career RBIs during the 10-2 win on a base hit that snuck through the left side of the infield in the bottom of the sixth. Benderski also drove in two runs during the second half of the doubleheader while Dybacz, Mckenzie Bergdoll, Makenzie Konik, Elaina Kassap, Cassidy Barrett and Avery Linn each recorded one RBI. Boudreau, Dybacz, Bergdoll and Barrett each recorded two hits during the win.

Redshirt-sophomore right-hander Michaela Stockwell (Fort Plain, N.Y./Fort Plain), who earned a win for the Dolphins during game two of Friday's doubleheader after tossing 2.2 innings in relief, started game two against SCSU on Saturday and gave the 'Phins four great innings, allowing just three hits, zero walks and one run with two strikeouts.

Sophomore right-hander Julia Panarella (Southington, Conn./Southington) pitched the fifth inning for Le Moyne and was credited with the win after the 'Phins scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-1 lead.

After SCSU scored a run in the top of the sixth, Bennett came into the game and retired the first three batters she faced to end the inning and strand a runner on second base.

The 'Phins tacked on four runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game via the run rule. Konik provided the game-ending RBI on a single up the middle.

Game One:
Bennett recorded a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts in the top of the first, faced just four batters in the second due to a two-out walk, then recorded another 1-2-3 inning with two more strikeouts in the top of the third.

Dybacz hammered an 0-1 pitch beyond the center fielder's reach in the left-center gap to lead off the bottom of the third, then Bergdoll drew a walk to put runners on first and second with zero outs. Senior outfielder Jillian Dunn (Fiskdale, Mass./Tantasqua Regional) came in to run for Bergdoll, and both runners advanced one base on a ball in the dirt.

With one out in the inning, Benderski hit a ground ball to the second baseman, allowing Dybacz to score easily and give the 'Phins a 1-0 lead.

With two outs and Dunn on third, Perucki recorded a strikeout to end the inning and prevent further damage.

Bennett got the two-hitter Emily Lange to ground out to second base for the first out of the fourth, bringing Dumont to the plate.

Dumont entered the doubleheader with an NE10-best .479 batting average, and when she stepped to into the batter's box for the second time against Bennett, after striking out in the top of the first, a battle ensued.

On the first pitch, Bennett delivered a nasty changeup that floated across the heart of the plate and into Cassidy Barrett's glove after avoiding a massive swing from Dumont.

Dumont fouled off the next pitch, a riseball, to move the count to 0-2. Bennett threw a ball outside, then Dumont fouled off another riseball on the 1-2 pitch. Dumont fouled off another offspeed pitch, then took another ball outside. After fouling off two more two-strike pitches, Dumont got a changeup over the plate, stayed back and launched a high fly ball over the left field fence to record SCSU's first hit against Bennett and tie the game at 1-1.

Bennett struck out the cleanup hitter during the next at bat on a 2-2 riseball, then got Perucki to pop up to end the inning and maintain the 1-1 tie.

Perucki recorded a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout in the bottom of the fourth, then Bennett did the same in the top of the fifth.

Boudreau reached on a bunt single to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, bringing Dybacz to the plate for the third time.

Dybacz worked a full count then hammered the 3-2 pitch into the left-center field gap. Dybacz's line drive hit the bottom of the fence on the fly and Boudreau came all the way around to score from first to give Le Moyne a 2-1 lead.

Lange hit a two-out double in the top of the sixth, then Bennett walked Dumont on five pitches. Bennett got Miller to fly out to shallow center field during the next at bat to end the inning and strand the two runners.

Perucki stranded a Le Moyne runner at second base in the bottom of the sixth, but Bennett recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh to end the game and secure the 2-1 win for the 'Phins.

Game Two:
Lange recorded a one-out single in the top of the first, but after Stockwell got Dumont to fly out to right field, Barrett caught Lange stealing second to end the inning.

Stockwell recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, then worked around a one-out single in the top of the third.

Barrett led off the bottom of the third with a walk, then Rinaldi moved the pinch runner Dominique Russo (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt.

Russo advanced to third base when the catcher recorded an error trying to throw behind her on a secondary lead, then Russo scored after freshman shortstop Avery Linn (Bethpage, N.Y./Plainedge) pushed a bunt just beyond the reach of the charging SCSU third baseman.

Southern Connecticut State tied the game in the top of the fourth, then Le Moyne put up five runs in the bottom of the frame.

Bergdoll led off the bottom of the fourth and smoked a line drive into the left-center gap that took its first bounce on the warning track before hitting the fence. Freshman infielder Alayna Bush (Adams, N.Y./South Jefferson) came in to pinch run following Bergdoll's leadoff double. Bush immediately advanced to third on a wild pitch, then Larobardiere walked to put runners on first and third.

Dunn came in to pinch run for Larobardiere, and immediately stole second base.

With runners on first and second and nobody out, Benderski fell behind in the count 0-2 before she smacked a hard ground ball past the third baseman down the left field line to drive in both runners with a double and break the tie.

Kassap also fell behind 0-2 during the next at bat before hammering a riseball into the left-center field gap to drive in Benderski and extend Le Moyne's lead to 4-1.

Barrett stepped to the plate next and continued the hit parade by throwing her bat at a low and away pitch and muscling the ball into shallow right-center field to drive in Kassap and make it 5-1 in favor of the Dolphins.

Dybacz provided the final RBI of the inning, ripping a ground ball back up the middle to bring in Rinaldi from third.

To begin the top of the fifth inning, Konik entered the game at third base, and Panarella entered the game as Le Moyne's new pitcher. During the first at bat of the frame, a ground ball was hit hard towards the third base bag. Konik moved to her right, backhanded the ball cleanly, then fired to first for the out number one.

SCSU loaded the bases later in the inning, but Rinaldi caught a soft liner at second base to end the inning and maintain the five-run lead.

Le Moyne went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the fifth, then SCSU trimmed their deficit to 6-2 with zero outs and a runner on second in the top of the sixth before Roman opted to send Bennett out to the circle.

Bennett retired the first three batters she faced on an infield popup, a strikeout and another infield popup.

Barrett ripped a single through the right side to lead off the bottom of the sixth, then Rinaldi hammered a double down the right field line to give Le Moyne runners on second and third with zero outs.

Chesney entered as a pinch hitter for Linn and pulled a ground ball to the left side of the infield that hit the glove of the diving third baseman and rolled past the diving shortstop into shallow left field which allowed both runners to score, extending Le Moyne's lead to 8-2.

Boudreau and Dybacz both recorded infield singles to load the bases, then Bergdoll hit the ball towards the right side of the infield which allowed Dybacz to cross the plate and give Le Moyne a nine-run lead.

With the bases loaded once again, Konik connected on a low 0-2 pitch and hit it squarely into center field for a base hit. Boudreau came around to score, which gave the 'Phins a 10-2 lead and ended the game.

The Le Moyne softball team will play another home doubleheader on Tuesday against the College of Saint Rose.