ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst softball team dropped a pair of tight games against Le Moyne, 3-2 and 4-2, in a non-conference doubleheader at Mercyhurst Softball Field on Wednesday.
Individual game recaps are below.
Game One: Le Moyne 3, Mercyhurst 2
A late rally fell short as the Lakers left two runners on base to end the game. Mercyhurst had loaded the bases with one out before Rachel DiBartolomeo delivered a sacrifice fly. The next batter, Jolene Teller, hit into a fielder's choice groundout to end the game.
Anna Cochis pitched all seven innings for Mercyhurst. She gave up nine hits and was charged with two earned runs. Cochis had a pair of strikeouts and one walk and.
With Mercyhurst trailing 2-0, Emily Hair had an RBI single for the Lakers in the third inning, trimming the hosts' deficit to 2-1. She singled to left field, driving Cassandra Egleston home.
The Dolphins (16-6) scored single runs in the first and second frames. Sabrina Riley had a sac fly and then Madison DeRita extended Le Moyne's lead to 2-0 in the third inning with an RBI groundout.
Le Moyne scored its final run of the game in the fourth as DeRita knocked an RBI infield single.
Peyton Bellrose was the winning pitcher. She threw for seven innings, giving up six hits and three walks while recording one strikeout.
Game Two: Le Moyne 4, Mercyhurst 2
Hair hit a game-tying, two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning for Mercyhurst (6-14-1), but that knot was quickly undone as Le Moyne's Sabrina Bellrose responded with her own two-run homer in the top of the seventh to give the Dolphins (16-6) the lead for good.
Le Moyne scored once in the first and once in the third. Courtney Case scored first on a wild pitch and, later, Kelly Mascari hit a sac fly as the Dolphins took a 2-0 lead.
Hair blasted her home run to left-center field with one out. The Lakers put two runners on base after that, but were unable to take the lead.
Alexis Eastman was the winning pitcher after seven innings of work. She gave up two runs on four hits while recording five strikeouts and three walks.
Heather Nye pitched all seven innings for the Lakers, giving up four runs on nine hits four runs. She had two strikeouts.
The Lakers will play next on Friday when they host Gannon for a 2:30 p.m. PSAC doubleheader.