Saturday, March 31, 2018

Del Vacchio Leads Softball to Sweep over Union (N.Y.), 8-0, 6-3

BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore second base Lauren Del Vacchio (Murrieta, Calif.) was 3-6 with a home run a double and three runs batted in to lead the Simmons College softball team to a sweep today over visiting Union College (N.Y.), winning the opener, 8-0, and the nightcap, 6-3, at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks win their fourth straight to improve to 7-9 on the season, while the Dutchwomen fall to 2-10. 
Del Vacchio also scored three times and drew a walk for Simmons, while first year first base Hailey Yabroudy (Amherst, N.H.) went 3-5 with a double and three RBI. Sophomore third base Dom Ortiz (Lawrence, Mass.) was 3-4 with two RBI and added a walk, while first year left fielder Ivy Vann (Bend, Ore.) was 2-6 with a run batted in and a walk. 
First year left fielder Stuart Buxton (Melbourne, Fla.) led Union, going 2-6 with two doubles and a
run batted in, while first year catcher Kendall Rogoff (Ridgefield, Conn.) was 2-5 with a triple and an RBI. Senior shortstop Courtney Casey (Somerville, Mass.) collected a pair of hits in five at-bats and drove in a run. 
Senior starting pitcher Juliet Nelson (Cumberland, R.I.) and sophomore Bridget Garach (West Hartford, Conn.) combined on a two-hit shutout for the Sharks in game one, which was halted after five innings, due to the eight-run mercy rule. 
Simmons did all of their scoring in the first three frames with three runs in both the first and second innings, followed by two in the third to give it all the offense it would need in the opening contest. Vann and Ortiz sandwiched walks around a single from sophomore center fielder Molly Hennessey (Charlton, Mass.) to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the first. Junior catcher Taylor LeBrun (Milford, Mass.) forced in the first run of the game with a bases on balls, before sophomore designated player Alex Soqui (Acushnet, Mass.) plated the second run with a single through the right side to make it 2-0. Yabroudy knocked in the third run with a ground out. 
Del Vacchio knocked in a run with a double and Vann and Ortiz each delivered runs with RBI singles to give the Sharks a 6-0 lead after two innings of play. First year right fielder Sydney DeVogt (Exeter, N.H.) reached on a fielder's choice and circled the bases when Del Vacchio parked a 1-0 pitch over the left center field fence for her second homer in three nights and an 8-0 Simmons advantage in the third. 
Nelson earned the win with four innings of one-hit ball and a pair of strikeouts, before Garach closed the door with a scoreless fifth inning. 
First year starting hurler Catherine Raeter (West Windsor, N.J.) (0-3) suffered the loss for the Dutchwomen, allowing six runs (five earned) on four hits and three walks. 
The Sharks put four runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning of game two. Del Vacchio drew a leadoff walk and later scored on an error, before Ortiz plated the second run with a single up the middle. Simmons tacked on two more runs in the frame on back-to-back RBI groundouts from Yabroudy and first year shortstop Marissa Santoro (Franklin, Mass.)
Union rallied for three runs in the top of the third to cut the deficit to 4-3. Junior shortstop Kelsey Hartsoe (Wallingford, Conn.) singled just inside the first base bag to open the inning from the nine spot, stole second and came around to score on a double to left center off the bat of Buxton. Casey later followed with a double of her own to trade places with Buxton and make it a 4-2 deficit. Rogoff made it a one-run game when she followed with a triple off the center field fence for the Dutchwomen. The Sharks got two runs back in the bottom of the inning when Hennessey worked a leadoff walk and later scored on a single through the right side from Yabroudy. Ortiz, who had singled after Hennessey, later scored the sixth run when junior Michaela Reeves (Reading, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice. 
Garach held Union in check for the remainder of the game after coming in relief to end the visitors' rally in the third. She closed out the game by allowing just two hits in four and two-thirds innings of relief, while striking out a batter to earn her first win of the year for Simmons. Junior starting pitcher Dana Dolinko (Wilmette, Ill.) (1-5) was saddled with the loss for the Dutchwomen after giving up six runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts.

No comments:

Post a Comment