KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Simmons College softball team routed Pennsylvania State University-New Kensington, 19-0, this afternoon at the Osceola Softball Complex's Field 1 in the Sunkissed Games in Kissimmee, Fla. The Sharks earn their first win of the season and improve to 1-2 on the season in the five-inning contest, which was halted due to the eight-run mercy rule. The Nittany Lions fall to 0-4.
Simmons boasted 12 batters with at least one base-hit, including eight with multiple hits.
Sophomore center fielder Molly Hennessey (Charlton, Mass.) went 2-4 with a double and four runs batted in for the Sharks, while first year first base Hailey Yabroudy (Amherst, N.H) finished the day going 3-5 with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore designated player Alex Soqui (Acushnet, Mass.) and first year shortstop Marissa Santoro (Franklin, Mass.) each collected three hits and knocked in a run, while first year right fielder Ivy Vann (Bend, Ore.) and junior third base Dom Ortiz (Lawrence, Mass.) each had two hits and plated a pair of runs.
Junior second base Rebecca Wilhelm (Leechburg, Pa.), sophomore catcher Morgan Williams (East Berlin, Pa.), sophomore Stephanie Schrecengost (Rural Valley, Pa.) and first year Lauren Torgent (Brackenridge, Pa.) all singled for Penn. State-New Kensington.
Senior starting pitcher Juliet Nelson (Cumberland, R.I.) earned the five-inning complete game shutout, allowing just four hits and no walks, while striking out four. Torgent was charged with the loss for the Nittany Lions after giving up 11 runs (five earned) on 11 hits and three walks in an inning and two-thirds of work.
Simmons put three runs on the board in the top of the first inning, keyed by an RBI single from Soqui, a run-scoring triple from Yabroudy for her first collegiate hit and a run-producing double by Ortiz. The Sharks sent 13 batters to the plate in the second with eight of them scoring to put the game out of reach at 11-0. Van keyed the inning with a triple and a single to drive in two runs, while Santoro doubled home a run and junior left fielder Michaela Reeves (Reading, Mass.) singled in a run.
First year Danielle Carson (Ashland, Mass.) forced in a run with her single for her first collegiate hit and Hennessey also plated a run with a single to tack on a pair of runs for the Sharks to increase their lead to 13-0 in the fourth frame. Simmons added six more runs in the fifth inning with 11 batters getting a turn at the plate. Hennessey fueled the frame with a two-run double, while Yabroudy and Ortiz each knocked in a run with a base hit. First year Emily Barbella (Littleton, Mass.) cracked an RBI double for her first collegiate hit and classmate Rachel Pfeiffer (Melrose, Mass.) drove in a run with a single.