Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College softball team (13-26, 4-9 NEC) competed against Wagner (8-20, 3-11 NEC) for the start of a home conference series on Saturday afternoon. The Dolphins took the first game 6-5 in 13 innings, and The Seahawks took the second game (4-3) in eight innings. The first game from today's double header marked the most innings for the Le Moyne Softball team in more than 20 years.
"We played the equivalent of three games in one long and very cold day" said head coach
Tracey Roman. "I thought we showed great resiliency in game one, coming back late to force extra innings and then eventually get the win. Laura is an absolute competitor and worked relentlessly to contain their offense for thirteen innings. Her competitive spirit is truly something special. I thought Arianna threw a gem in game two as well. Hits combined with mishaps defensively in the first inning put us at an early deficit but she locked things down after that inning and had a really strong outing overall. We had plenty of scoring opportunities throughout the game but weren't able to capitalize. Greater run support earlier in the game could have made all the difference and that's an area ripe for improvement. We competed for twenty one innings and never backed down. Now onto the rubber match tomorrow!"
First Game:
The first inning went without any runs, but in the second the Seahawks had Justine Carranza and Kate Wolf cross home plate off a single to center from Jordyn Dulken giving them a two run lead.
In the top of the fifth, Lea Rachal added a run off a ground out to shortstop from Sydney Trujillo (3-0).
In the bottom of the sixth, the Dolphins added a run with two outs on the board. sophomore designated player
Audrey Benderski (Spring Lake Park, Minn./Spring Lake Park) drew a walk. Freshman outfielder
Kara Bacon (Warrensburg, N.Y. / Warrensburg) entered the game to pinch run for Benderski at first.
Freshman left-fielder
Sydney Nesci (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) hit a double to right sending home Bacon (3-1).
In the bottom of the seventh, junior right fielder
Alyssa Dybacz (Baldwinsville, N.Y. / Charles W. Baker) doubled down the left-field line. Junior second baseman
Dominique Rinaldi (Sayville, NY/Sayville) then reached first on a fielder's choice. Redshirt junior
Frankie Larobardiere (North Syracuse, N.Y. / Cicero-North Syracuse/ Onondaga C.C.) drew a walk with Rinaldi advancing to second, and Dybacz advanced to third. Graduate first baseman
Mckenzie Bergdoll (Attleboro, Mass./Attleboro) hit a single up the middle while both Rinaldi and Dybacz scored and sent the game into extra innings (3-3).
In the 10
th inning, Payton Janicki scored off a ground out from teammate Carranza giving the Seahawks a one run lead over the Dolphins heading into the bottom of the 10
th (4-3).
Le Moyne responded with Graduate student catcher
Brandi Feeney (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse/Saint Peter's) hitting a double to right center and Benderski who was placed on second advanced to home tying the game at 4 runs.
In the top of the 11
th inning, Brityn Buchanan pinch ran for Wolf who was placed on second. Dulken grounded out to second while Buchanan would cross home and add another run for Wagner (5-4).
In the bottom of the inning, Dybacz was placed on second and would advance to third off an out from Rinaldi. Sophomore middle infielder
Avery Linn (Bethpage, N.Y. / Plainedge) would single to shortstop and then steal second during Bergdoll's at-bat. Bergdoll then sent a sacrifice fly to right field and Dybacz added another run to the board tying it again at 5 runs.
No runs were made in the 12
th, and top of the 13
th inning. The Dolphins would fight back in the bottom of the 13
th while freshman second baseman
Shannon Gavigan (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford) was placed on second. Redshirt junior second baseman
Brooke Nicolaos (Liverpool, N.Y. / Cicero-North Syracuse) sacrifice grounded out at first and Gavigan would advance to third. Dybacz then singled to center as Gavigan crossed homeplate giving the Dolphins the winning run, 6-5 over the Seahawks.
Graduate pitcher
Laura Bennet (Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post) would earn the win giving her a 7-15 record this season.
Second Game:
To start off the second game of the day, Wagner came out in the first scoring three runs. Samantha Tran added the first run off a triple from Rachal (1-0). Janicki and Rachal both then scored off a single from Trujillo (3-0).
It wasn't until third inning that the Dolphins would add a run to the board. Rinaldi started with a single off a bunt. Bergdoll then sent a double to right field and Rinaldi crossed homeplate (1-3).
Another two runs were scored in the bottom of the fifth for the Dolphins. Larobardiere lead-off with a single to left field. Freshman third baseman
Molly Wolf (Horseheads, N.Y. / Horseheads) entered the game to pinch run for Larobardiere at first. Bergdoll then singled to center field while Wolf advanced to second. Sophomore catcher
Alexandra Chesney (Malverne, N.Y. / Sacred Heart) pinch hit for Benderski and singled to right field bringing home Wolf (2-3). Freshman pitcher
Arianna Exarchakis (Monroe, N.Y. / Monore-Woodbury) hit a sacrifice fly to center field as Bergdoll would add another run tying it at 3 runs.
The score would stay tied sending the teams into another extra inning battle. In the top of the eighth Trujillo added the winning run for the Seahawks off a fielding error by the second baseman with a final score of 4-3.
Wagner's Natalie Rodriguez would take the win and bring her record to 4-5 for the season.
The Dolphin's will finish the series tomorrow Sunday, April 21
st for their Senior Day against Wagner at 12pm at the Le Moyne Softball Complex.
