Fort Myers, FL – The SUNY Brockport softball team split a pair of games on opening day, starting 2022 off 1-1. Brockport defeated Rockford University, 3-2, to get things started and then fell to Kenyon, 3-8, in the second game.
Game 1 - Brockport 3, Rockford 2
Catherine Johnson (1-0) started in the circle for the season opening contest early Saturday morning. She struck out seven batters and allowed just one earned run on the way to a pitching a complete game.
Annie Dipirro and
Emma DeJesus both went 2-for-3 at the plate, combining for four of Brockport's five hits in the game. Dipirro connected for a double, one single, and one RBI. DeJesus got on base with two singles and scored a run for the squad.
Olivia Hayden had the fifth hit for Brockport, batting 1-for-3 in the contest with an RBI single. Hayden and teammate
Madison Evarts both were credited with a stolen base against Rockford.
The Golden Eagles struck first thanks to
Annie Dipirro's RBI double in the first inning, which brought
Emma DeJesus in to score. Leading 1-0 after the first, they would go on to score two big runs in the second.
Olivia Hayden's single sent
Amanda Blakely home to score and moved
Madison Evarts over to third base. With runners on first and third Rockford attempted to defend the double steal situation, looking to get the runner out at home. Hayden stole second and despite the defensive attempt, Evarts beat the throw to score a run.
Rockford scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning, but
Catherine Johnson was able to hold off any late rally attempts to seal the win.
Game 2 - Brockport 3, Kenyon 8
Hali Jenner (0-1) received her first collegiate start against Kenyon in the second game of the day. She had one strikeout and allowed four earned runs in 4.2 innings pitched in her debut.
Megan Van Dorn entered in relief in the fifth, striking out one batter and allowing three runs to score in 2.1 innings of work.
Hannah Jacobs went 2-for-3 with an RBI in her first action of the year.
Annie Dipirro had an RBI as well, going 1-for-2 at the dish.
Emily Willis-Nersinger had the third RBI for Brockport in the game, batting 1-for-3.
Emma DeJesus doubled, while
Madison Ross and
Madison Evarts both singled as all three players had one hit in the loss. DeJesus and Ross both scored one run as well. In a pinch running situation,
Olivia Hayden stepped onto the base paths for one steal and one run scored.
Kenyon got the game started with a run in the first inning, before a lightning delay put the game on pause. After a short wait the teams took the field again, which soon led to some back and forth action in the third inning. Kenyon would score another run to go up 2-0 in the top of the third.
The Golden Eagles would score all three of their runs in the bottom of the third.
Annie Dipirro,
Emily Willis-Nersinger, and
Hannah Jacobs all hit RBI singles to put them up 3-2 going into the fourth inning. Kenyon went on to score six unanswered runs in the last few innings to gain possession of an 8-3 lead as the game came to a close.
After splitting on opening day of the 2022 season, Brockport looks to build off of this performance moving forward this week. The team is back on the diamond on Sunday for another pair of games down in Florida. Brockport plays Pitt-Bradford at 1 pm before taking on Alfred State at 3 pm.
