Erie, Pa. – The Le Moyne College softball team opened their three-game NEC series at Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon. The Lakers walked-off the series-opener, coming out on top, 6-5, over the Dolphins.

Mercyhurst got on the board early, as pitcher Gabriella DeLuca homered to left center off Le Moyne's sophomore starter Isabella Kwashek (West Deptford, N.J. / West Deptford) with two outs and no one on base in the bottom of the first inning.

Le Moyne struck back for two runs to take the 2-1 lead in the top of the second inning as junior DP Arianna Exarchakis (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) led-off with a double to right field before junior shortstop Shannon Gavigan (Havertown, Pa/Haverford) singled to left field and advanced Exarchakis' pinch runner, freshman Coral Enscoe (Webster, N.Y. / Bishop Kearney), to third base. 
Junior pinch-hitter Molly Wolf (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) drove in both runners with a single to center field in the next at-bat. 

The Lakers tied the game in their half of the inning as center fielder Shailene Riemedio singled to center field to plate Alana Stuart. 

The hosts then took a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth as left fielder Braylynn Kelly was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded before DeLuca recorded an RBI single to left field and Riemedio stole home later in the inning. 

The Dolphins fought back for a pair of runs to lessen their deficit to one in the top of the fifth as freshman left fielder Kayla Dunkerley (Purcellville, Va. / Loudon Valley) started the inning by reaching base on an error before being driven in on a double to right field off the bat of senior first baseman Audrey Benderski (Spring Lake Park, Minn./Spring Lake Park). Exarchakis then singled to second base, scoring Benderski from second base.

Le Moyne added a run to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the sixth as junior second baseman Avery Linn (Bethpage, N.Y./Plainedge) and Dunkerley connected on back-to-back doubles in the inning. 

With the game tied in the bottom of the seventh, Mercyhurst walked-off the series-opener as DP Avarie Mays led-off with a double to center field before advancing to third and scoring on a fielding error by the Dolphins.

Exarchakis led Le Moyne's offense with a pair of hits while Wolf's two RBI were tied for the game-high. 

In the circle, Kwashek allowed six runs on 11 hits and five walks while recording five strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

What's Next:
Le Moyne will close out the series with the Lakers in a 12:00 p.m. / 2:00 p.m. doubleheader tomorrow, Sunday, Apr. 26.