KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Sophomore Molly Hennessey (Charlton, Mass.) collected three hits and first years Hailey Yabroudy (Amherst, N.H.) and Ivy Vann (Bend, Ore.) each knocked in a pair of runs to lead the Simmons College softball team to an 8-6 victory over Heidelberg University today at the Osceola Softball Complex's Field 2 in the Sunkissed Games in Kissimmee, Fla. The Sharks improve to 2-6 on the season, while the Student Princes fall to 7-3.

All but one run between the two teams were scored in the first two innings of the game.

Hennessey was 3-3 with a run batted in and a run scored, while Yabroudy cracked a double and Vann hit her second triple of the season for Simmons. Junior third base Dom Ortiz (Lawrence, Mass.) was 1-3 with an RBI single and sophomore second base Lauren Del Vacchio (Murrieta, Calif.) doubled for her third two-bagger of the day for the Sharks. Sophomore relief pitcher Alex Soqui (Acushnet, Mass.) earned the victory, allowing just one unearned run over five full innings on five hits and no walks, while striking out four to improve to 1-3 on the year.

Senior second base Haylee Patel (Grove City, Ohio) led Heidelberg, going 2-3 with a double and two runs batted in, while senior third base Abbey McKee (Maineville, Ohio) was 3-4 with a triple and an RBI. Sophomore first base Casey Moore (Springfield, Ohio) and classmate Kaitlyn Moore (Springfield, Ohio) each drove in a run with Casey Moore collecting a double as well. Kaitlyn Moore suffered the loss for the Student Princes, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits and a walk to go with a strikeout in an inning-plus of work.

Patel fueled a four-run first for Heidelberg with a two-run double, while McKee and Kaitlyn Moore each knocked in a run with a single.

Simmons answered with five runs in the bottom of the opening frame to take a 5-4 lead. Yabroudy highlighted the inning with a two-run double, while Ortiz singled home a run and first year shortstop Marissa Santoro (Franklin, Mass.) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.

The Student Princes knotted the score at 5-5 with a run in the top of the second when senior Renee Lovett (Wapakoneta, Ohio) dumped a one-out single into right field and later scored on a two-out double down the right field line off the bat of Casey Moore to tie the game at 5-5.

The Sharks scored three times in the bottom of the second to give them enough runs for the eventual win. First year catcher Rachel Pfeiffer (Melrose, Mass.) led off the second with a single to right and advanced to third ahead of a Del Vacchio double to left center field to put both runners in scoring position. Vann followed with a triple down the right field line to score both Pfeiffer and Del Vacchio to give Simmons a 7-5 lead. Hennessey singled up the middle to plate Vann and give the Sharks an 8-5 lead.

Neither team scored again until the fifth inning when Heidelberg scored the final run of the contest to pull to within 8-6. McKee ripped a single down the left field line and advanced to second on a throwing error. First year Lauren Wolf (Milan, Ohio) pinch ran for McKee and scampered to third on a wild pitch. She later scored when first year pitcher Vanessa Macias (Chula Vista, Calif.) struck out, but the third strike was dropped to necessitate a throw to first to enable Wolf to score the final run of the day on the play.

The Student Princes threatened to score in the final two innings, but were kept off the board by the Sharks. Patel led off the sixth with a single for one of two hits in the frame for Heidelberg and eventually advanced to third base, but was caught too far off the base on a missed bunt and gunned down by Pfeiffer before retreating back to third. The Student Princes received a two-out triple from McKee in the seventh, but Soqui induced a game-ending ground ball to third to give Simmons the win.

The Sharks return to action on Saturday, March 17 when they host Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a 2:00 p.m. twinbill at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass., while Heidelberg travels to Bluffton, Ohio to take on Bluffton University on March 15 at 3:00 p.m.