KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Simmons softball team was defeated by Rhodes College, 29-5, this evening at the Osceola Softball Complex's Field 2 in the Sunkissed Games in Kissimmee, Fla. The Sharks fall to 0-2 on the season, while the Lynx improve to 9-3. The contest was halted after five complete innings, due to the eight-run mercy rule.
Rhodes took advantage of 13 Simmons errors and scored multiple runs in all five innings, while boasting six players with three or more runs scored.
Junior shortstop Jill Healy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) hit for the cycle with a home run, triple, double and a single, while driving in five runs and scoring four times to lead the Lynx. Junior catcher Kendall Henry (Roseville, Calif.) launched a pair of homers and also collected four hits, while knocking in six runs. Senior center fielder Kirsten Samuels (Vancouver, B.C.) crossed the plate four times, recorded two hits and batted in three runs.
Sophomore third base Alex Soqui (Acushnet, Mass.) led Simmons with a pair of doubles, while knocking in a run and scoring a run. Sophomore center fielder Molly Hennessey (Charlton, Mass.) collected two runs batted in, while collecting a double and a run scored.
Rhodes got on the board first with two runs in the first inning and added five more in the second and eight in the third to take a 15-0 advantage after three innings of play. The Lynx capitalized on seven miscues in the second inning and received an RBI double from first year Samantha Feinstein (Pembroke, Fla.) and a scoring-scoring single from Healy. Henry highlighted the top of the third for Rhodes with a two-run homer, while Healy plated a run with a triple and Clark and Bresler each drove in a run in the frame. First year second base Peyton Clark (Franklin, Tenn.) and junior Katelyn Bresler (Plantation, Fla.) also plated a run with a single each.
The Sharks got four runs back in the bottom of the fourth, inluding a two-run double from Hennessey and a run-producing double off the bat of Soqui to cut the deficit to 15-4.
Healy keyed a five-run fourth with a two-run homer for the Lynx and Samuels plated a run with a single to help them to a 20-4 advantage in the top of the fourth inning. Simmons scored its final run in the fourth when junior relief pitcher Tori Gomes (Taunton, Mass.) stroked a leadoff single up the middle and later scored on an error.
Rhodes capped the contest with nine runs in the fifth, fueled by a three-run homer from Henry, an RBI-double from Healy and run-scoring singles from Bresler and junior right fielder Haley Rath (Mason, Ohio).
Junior starting pitcher Bri Maniscalco (Wantagh, N.Y.) earned the victory for the Lynx, giving up five runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks, while striking out four. Senior Juliet Nelson (Cumberland, R.I.) was saddled with the loss for Simmons after allowing four runs (two earned) on a hit and a walk to go with a pair of strikeouts in an inning-plus of work for the Sharks.
The Sharks return to the diamond on Wednesday, March 7 when they take on Penn State University-New Kensington at the Osceola Softball Complex's Field 1 at 1:30 p.m.