PHILADELPHIA – In a home run showcase Saturday afternoon, the La Salle softball team (8-25, 1-10 A-10) couldn't keep up with Dayton (21-19, 8-2 A-10), falling 9-6 and 14-8 in the twin bill. A total of nine homers were hit between the two teams.
Freshman
Cailey Joyce led the Explorers with two long balls in the second game to become the first Explorer to hit two home runs in a single game since
Jackie Heim hit two against Omaha on March 9 of last season and first freshman with two in a game since
Valerie Pineiro did so against St. Bonaventure on April 4, 2015.
DAYTON 9, La SALLE 6
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Dayton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a two-run double to left field.
- The Explorers responded in the home half as freshman Mackenzie Vogler sent a two-run homer to left field.
- The Flyers scored seven unanswered runs to claim a 9-2 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
- Junior Courtney Shupp started the scoring efforts in the final frame with an RBI single through the left side. Four batters later, sophomore Ashley Mendenhall sent a bomb down the right field line for a three-run dinger. Despite the four-run inning, the Explorers couldn't finish the comeback.
INSIDE THE CIRCLE:
- Joyce (5-10) pitched a complete game and allowed six earned runs on 12 hits and three walks. The rookie also struck out two on the afternoon.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Vogler and sophomore Deanna Pineiro paced the Explorers with two hits in three trips. Both scored a run, with Vogler hitting the homer and Pineirio recorded a double.
- Mendenhall's only hit was the three-run long ball.
DAYTON 14, La SALLE 8
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Joyce started things off in the home half of the second with a laser shot to center field to plate herself and Vogler.
- Dayton took the lead in the fourth inning with a three-run home run.
- Joyce answered with another two-run bomb in the fourth inning to regain the lead for the Explorers, 4-3.
- A six run Flyers' sixth inning opened the game for the visitors, putting them up 9-4.
- The Blue and Gold chipped away at the lead in the sixth as Joyce walked with the bases loaded to register and RBI and Pineiro hit a sacrifice fly to score freshman Audrey LaBouliere.
- In the seventh, Dayton added another five runs to widen the gap to eight.
- La Salle was able to add another two in the home half with a sacrifice fly by freshman Natalie Rios and an RBI groundout from Mendenhall.
INSIDE THE CIRCLE:
- Sophomore Morgan Orlowski (3-13) allowed just one hit through the first five innings before the Flyers squared up. The West Chester, Pa. native pitched the complete game and allowed 11 earned runs on 11 hits and four walks. She set down two on strikes.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Joyce ended game two with a perfect 2-for-2 day at the plate with the two homeruns, five RBIs, and a walk.
- Junior Emily Conaway registered a pair of doubles and a run scored.
- Rios, Mendenhall, and Pinerio all drove in a run.
UP NEXT:
La Salle and Dayton complete the three game series tomorrow at 11 a.m. from West Campus Field.
