BOSTON, Mass. -- The Simmons University softball team scored eight runs in the top of the eighth inning of the second game to earn a 12-4 victory and gain a split after dropping the opener, 11-3, to host Emerson College today at Rotch Field in Boston, Mass. The Sharks are now 3-9 on the season, while the Lions are 5-5.

Junior center fielder Lauren Del Vacchio (Murrieta, Calif.) 4-6 on the day with two runs batted in, three runs scored and two walks to pace Simmons, while sophomore second base Marissa Santoro (Franklin, Mass.) also hit safely in both games, going 3-6 with two runs scored. Sophomore right fielder Danielle Carson (Ashland, Mass.) was 3-4 with a run scored and senior first base Dom Ortiz (Lawrence, Mass.) knocked in three runs with a home run and a single. Sophomore catcher Christie Bott (Seaford, N.Y.) drove in three runs.

Sophomore Lindsey Lowe (Porter Ranch, Calif.) led Emerson, going 4-7 with a home run, two doubles,  three RBI and two runs scored and senior Kalista Leonardos (El Granada, Calif.) plated three runs with two hits, including a double to go with a pair of runs scored. Senior Marisa DeFranco (Falls Church, Va.) collected two hits and knocked in three runs, while senior Alena Jones (Woodinville, Wash.) picked up two runs batted in with a pair of hits and also scored two runs.

Emerson scored seven runs in the bottom of the third inning of game one to give it the eventual winning margin to force a halt to the contest following five innings, due to the eight-run mercy rule. Leonardos keyed the frame with a two-run double and Lindsey Lowe also doubled home a run. First year Lexi Semanchik (Flemington, N.J.) singled in a run, while first year Morgan Mitchell (Riverton, Utah) and DeFranco each drew bases loaded walks to force in a run each during the inning that saw 12 batters come to the plate.

First year catcher Shannon McMahon (El Cajon, Calif.) put Simmons on the board first with an RBI single in the top of the first frame for a 1-0 edge. The Lions countered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, including a two-run single from Jones and a run-scoring single from first year Calli Pratt (Dighton, Mass.). The Sharks knotted the score at 3-3 when Santoro led off the top of the second with a single and Ortiz followed with a two-run homer over the left field fence.

Emerson took the lead for good, taking advantage of Simmons miscue in the bottom of the second to take a 4-3 lead, before putting the game away with its offensive explosion in the third.

Sophomore starting pitcher Neely Eddleston (West Wareham, Mass.) improved to 3-2 for the Lions after allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk to go with a strikeout in four and a third innings of work, while sophomore righty Hailey Yabroudy (Amherst, N.H.) (0-4) was saddled with the loss for the visitors, giving up eight runs (five earned) on four hits and four walks in addition to a pair of strikeouts.

The Sharks rebounded to take the nightcap and salvage the split, scoring a run in the fifth to eventually send the game into extra innings and eight runs in the eighth for the win.

Del Vacchio launched a double to lead off the fifth inning and later scored on a sacrifice fly to center field off the bat of Bott to tie the game at 4-4 for Simmons.

The Sharks scored the go-ahead run in the eighth when McMahon reached on an error. Ortiz followed with an RBI single to give Simmons a 6-4 margin, before the Sharks scored six more times with two outs. Del Vacchio plated another run with an RBI bases on balls and first year shortstop Allie Mulhern (Westford, Mass.), who reached on a bunt single, later came around to score on a wild pitch. Sophomore left fielder Ivy Vann (Bend, Ore.) reached on a bunt single of her own to plate another run and Bott struck the big blow with a two-run double down the right field line to increase the Sharks advantage to 11-4. McMahon figured in her second run of the frame with a run-producing single to bring home the final run of the day and give Simmons an eventual 12-4 victory.

Emerson cracked the scoring column first when Lowe drove in a run with a double to center for a 1-0 lead. Simmons answered right away with a three-run second. First year third base Alex Morang (Windham, Maine) reached on an error to push across the Sharks first run of the contest, before Mulhern and Del Vacchio followed with an RBI single each to give Simmons a 3-1 lead. DeFranco countered in the bottom of the frame with a two-run single to center and Lowe cranked a home run to left field to give the Lions a 4-3 lead after three complete innings.

First year right-hander Maddie Castigliego (Bristol, R.I.) hurled her first complete game to gain the victory and improve to 2-1 for the Sharks, yielding four runs (three earned) on six hits and six walks in eight innings, while fanning a batter. First year hurler Karagan Knowles (Tuscon, Ariz.) (1-2) was tagged with the loss for Emerson, giving up nine runs (seven earned) on seven hits and two walks to go with a strikeout in three and two-thirds innings of work in relief.

Simmons returns to action when they host Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in a 2:00 p.m. twinbill tomorrow at Daly Field, while the Lions host Wentworth Institute of Technology for a pair tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.