NAPLES, Fla. - La Roche softball concluded its time in Florida on Friday, dropping a game one heartbreaker, then a tough defeat in game two.
GAME ONE: Westfield State 5 LRU 4
Westfield State jumped out early, scoring two runs in the top of the first. La Roche answered immediately. Brooke Murgenovich ignited the offense with a hit and aggressive baserunning, eventually helping spark a two-run response that evened the game at 2–2 after the opening frame.
The Redhawks took their first lead in the third inning. Murgenovich reached base again and created another scoring opportunity, setting up an RBI from Finley Hohn to give La Roche a 3–2 advantage.
Hohn was strong in the circle early, limiting Westfield State's offense through the middle innings while working around traffic on the bases.
Westfield State regained momentum in the fifth inning, plating two runs to take a 4–3 lead. La Roche answered right back in the bottom half of the inning. Murgenovich once again got on base and used her speed to pressure the defense, eventually coming around to score and tie the game 4–4.
Murgenovich led the Redhawks offensively, going 2-for-2 with two walks, three runs scored, and two stolen bases, constantly creating problems on the basepaths.
The game remained tied heading into the final inning, but Westfield State managed to push across the go-ahead run in the seventh to take a 5–4 lead.
La Roche threatened late but couldn't bring the tying run across as Westfield State's bullpen held on to close out the game.
The Redhawks finished with five hits and five walks, with contributions from Maura Wade, Ashlee Bair, and Finley Hohn at the plate. Hohn also led the pitching staff with 4.2 innings, allowing just two earned runs while keeping La Roche within striking distance.
GAME TWO: Geneva 10 LRU 4
La Roche jumped out to an early lead but couldn't hold off a strong offensive effort from Geneva, falling 10–4 in a nonconference matchup.
The Redhawks struck first in the opening inning. Brooke Murgenovich reached base and used her speed on the basepaths, eventually scoring when Maura Wade grounded out to bring home the game's first run and give La Roche a 1–0 advantage.
Geneva answered in the bottom half of the inning, capitalizing on a defensive miscue to even the score at 1–1.
La Roche regained momentum in the third inning. Iyarah Hicks came around to score on a wild pitch, and Murgenovich later crossed the plate on another wild pitch to extend the Redhawks' lead to 3–1.
However, Geneva responded with a big third inning. The Golden Tornadoes took advantage of a combination of hits and defensive errors to plate four runs and flip the score in their favor, 5–3.
Geneva continued to add pressure offensively, scoring once in the fourth and three more times in the fifth to extend the lead. A run in the sixth pushed the Tornadoes into double digits.
La Roche managed to get one run back in the sixth inning when Klover Haberthier scored on a wild pitch, cutting the deficit to 9–4.
Murgenovich and Haberthier each recorded hits for the Redhawks, while Wade added La Roche's lone RBI. In the circle, Wade pitched five innings before Katie Grimm came on in relief for the final inning.