Softball | 4/2/2015 5:27:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Game 1 | Game 2 | Updated stats
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Nazareth split a pair of non-conference softball games against Brockport on Thursday afternoon. The games were played at Mercy High School due to the field conditions at Brockport. The Golden Flyers fell 8-0 in the first game before rebounding for the 5-0 victory in the second game. Junior Maureen Rogers ignited the attack in the second game with two hits and three RBIs while classmate Danae Wetherbee blanked the Golden Eagles for her first win of the season.

Following Thursday's games, Nazareth stands at 7-5 overall, and Brockport is 7-7 overall. Although the first game snapped the Golden Flyers' five-game winning streak, Nazareth's rebound win in the second game gave the Golden Flyers their sixth victory in seven games.

In the second game, Nazareth crossed the plate four times in the first two innings. Junior Morgan Ross started the offense in the first when she drew a walk. When sophomore Emily Graham's bunt attempt could not be played cleanly, Ross advanced to third and Graham moved to second. Rogers scored Ross on a single to third. Graham scored the Golden Flyers' second run on a ground out by junior Carly Pike.

Rogers pushed across Nazareth's runs in the second with a two-out, two-run double that scored sophomore Sarah Papponetti and Ross. Papponetti reached base early in the inning on an error, and Ross had an infield single. With her three RBIs, Rogers has four on the season.

The Golden Flyers extended their lead to 5-0 in the fifth inning after Pike started the inning with a double to left field. It was her third double of the season. She advanced to third on a ground out by senior Sophia Rhoades, and she scored on Cydney Luke's ground out.

Brockport had a runner reach third base in the second, third, and seventh innings but were unable to score. In the second, Amanda Yuhas hit a one-out double and moved to third on a passed ball. She was stranded following a ground out to Wetherbee and a line drive to Pike. The next inning, Brianna Ferchen reached on a fielder's choice then stole second. She advanced to third on another passed ball, but the Golden Flyers' defense converted two ground balls into outs to keep Brockport scoreless.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Golden Eagles loaded the bases with no outs. The Golden Flyers thwarted the rally with a force out at home for the first out. Nazareth ended the game with a double play after Papponetti caught a line drive then picked off Paige Monachino at first.

Wetherbee evened her record to 1-1 on the season with the win. She scattered five hits and allowed two walks while striking out one batter. The Golden Eagles' Jaime Berger took the loss and fell to 3-4 on the season. Berger allowed six hits and five runs although only two were earned. She also had six walks and six strikeouts.

In the first game, Brockport's Korey Kibling limited the Golden Flyers to just three hits. Nazareth's best chance to score came in the top of the third inning when Ross started the inning with a double. She advanced to third with a sacrifice bunt by Graham. The Golden Eagles held Nazareth off the scoreboard by recording a fly out and a strikeout to close the inning.

Like the first inning, the Golden Flyers' first batter reached base to begin the second and third innings. Rhoades and Papponetti each reached base on a walk.

Freshman Stephanie Mongelli and Rogers had the Golden Flyers other two hits, in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.

Brockport took the lead in the first inning after Ferchen and Brianna Harris each doubled to open the stanza. Shelby Perry followed with a single but Nazareth held its deficit to one run by tagging Harris out at third. The Golden Eagles' four-run second inning was highlighted by a two-run homer by Nicole Atkins, which was the first of her career.

The Golden Flyers hurt themselves with two errors in the third inning. On Alyssa Balfe's single, she advanced to third on an error. She scored moments later on another error to extend Brockport's lead to six runs.

With a run in the fourth and six innings, Brockport ended the game in six frames. In the fourth, Ferchen drew a walk then stole second to move into scoring position. She scored on a double by Perry. In the sixth, Harris had another double and moved to third on a single by Perry. Lindsay Wachna ended the game early with a single to score Harris.

Nazareth senior Nicole Bayona took the loss and stands at 3-2 on the season. In three innings, Bayona allowed nine hits and five earned runs with one strikeout. Sophomore Nicole White relieved Bayona and allowed five hits and two runs with one strikeout in two innings.

In her fourth victory of the season, Kibling recorded four strikeouts to limit the Golden Flyers' offense.

Nazareth is in action again on Friday when the Golden Flyers host St. John Fisher in their Empire 8 opener. The teams play a doubleheader with games set for 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. The Golden Flyers' Saturday games against Alfred have been postponed due to the inclement forecast.