ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT softball team (9-21, 4-8 Liberty League) split its final Liberty League doubleheader of the season at the University of Rochester (22-10, 8-2 Liberty League) on Saturday afternoon from Towers Field. Rochester won the opener, 9-1, in five innings and Sierra Valentine (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) hurled her first collegiate shutout, a two-hitter, as RIT won game two, 2-0, in a terrific pitching duel.
 
In game one, Rochester scored in each of the first three innings – four in the first, two in the second, three in the third to take a 9-0 lead. Kayla Kibling was 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Brittany Grage had a two-run triple in the second inning. Julia Liberto was 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
 
On the mound, Grage picked up her ninth win of the season. She scattered six hits, allowed one earned run, walked one, and struck out nine. She set down nine of the first 10 hitters she faced. Sarah Wolcott (Cohocton, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) doubled leading off the second, but Grage struck out two and got a comebacker to end the inning. In the fourth, Emily Shoemaker (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) singled and Wolcott worked a one-out walk. Grage got a strikeout and groundout.
 
The Tigers put together four singles in the fifth to break onto the scoreboard. With one down, they linked three straight hits together loading the bases. Grage struck out pinch-hitter Brooke Kaminski (Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro) before Amanda Cook (Royal Palm Beach, FL/Suncoast) singled through the left side.
 
In game two, Valentine allowed just two hits, walked three, and struck out one to get her second win of the season. It was her first collegiate shutout, as she frustrated the potent Rochester offensive attack. Eleni Wechsler allowed three hits, two unearned runs, walked two, and struck out 10 for the Yellowjackets.
 
Both RIT runs came with errors in the mix. Wolcott walked, leading off the second. With one down, Sam Killian (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) singled to right and Wolcott advanced to third. Destiny Pacheco (Rochester, NY/Wilson Magnet) ran for Killian. Pacheco took off for second. Rochester cut off the throw and Laurelle Byrne-Cody threw home with Wolcott halfway down the line. As she retreated towards third, the throw squirted away. Wolcott reversed field and managed to score.
 
In the seventh, Killian reached on a one-out fielding error. Alexandria Lunderman (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) waked. Amber Libby (Waterboro, ME/Massabesic) doubled to left center – the only hard-hit ball by either team in the game. Killian scored. Lunderman was thrown out at the plate, Corning to Byrne-Cody, to Rachel Roddenbery.
 
Rochester stranded five in the first three innings, only two in scoring position. The Yellowjackets never got a runner as far as third base. They had a small uprising in the third. Kibling walked and was bunted to second. Grage reached on a fielding error. Wechsler bounced to third where Mackenzie Martin stepped on the bag to retire Kibling for the second out. Wayson flied out.

With the doubleheader split, the Tigers were eliminated from Liberty League postseason play, as the Tigers needed to win both games today and get some help from others in the conference. Rochester leads the all-time series between the two schools, 22-19. It was RIT's first win over the Yellowjackets since the 2009 season.

RIT will honor seniors Kelly Meegan (Bristol, NH/Newfound Regional ) and Wolcott between games as RIT hosts Nazareth on Sunday in a doubleheader that starts at 1 p.m.