MARQUETTE, Mich. - Lake Superior State softball opened the 2016 campaign with victories in their first two games on Saturday at the Finlandia Dome Tournament in Marquette, Mich., and a loss in the day's final contest.
The Lakers (2-1) rolled through the opening games with a pair of five inning contests cut short after they had built large leads. Pitchers Riley Durbano and Alyssa Boucher opened the pair of morning games with complete games on the mound to stifle their opponents, Marian University (Wis.) and tournament hosts Finlandia.
In the final game of the tournament's opening day the Lakers were edged 11-0 by Concordia (Wis.). The LSSU bats could not keep up with the Falcons as Emily Brekke pitched a complete-game shutout in five innings of work.
Game 1 vs. Marian University (Wis.)
LSSU opened the scoring with a pair of triples in the first stanza as junior transfer Kylie Durre delivered a triple in her first at-bat with the Lakers, driving in Taylor Steinhelper and Carly Banchiu. Freshman Katey Hendershott then brought Durre home with a triple in her first collegiate plate appearance.
The Lakers added four runs in the second inning with a Lindsey Pajot double, scoring Durbano from second base, and a three-run homerun by Durre in her second plate appearance. Durre's shot scored Pajot and Banchiu, who had reached on a walk during the previous at-bat.
After a two-run third inning, the Lakers had already jumped
The Sabres (1-1) later added a run in the fourth inning, which the Lakers matched in the bottom half of the inning, and added their second run in the top of the fifth but were unable to avoid the mercy rule.
Door led the Lakers at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a homerun and a triple and adding five runs batted in.
Durbano, a sophomore from Barrie, Ont., picked up her first win of the season with five innings pitched, allowing two earned runs and striking out one batter.
Game 2 vs. Finlandia
The Laker bats remained hot in the second game Saturday morning. LSSU scored 13 runs in a rout over the tournament hosts as their senior pitcher, Boucher, provided five innings while allowing two earned runs on six hits.
LSSU were powered offensively by homeruns from sophomore Teryn Williams, who went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, and Katey Hendershott's grand-slam homer in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Hendershott finished 1-for-2 at the plate with four RBIs and a walk.
Boucher helped her cause on the mound with a 2-for-3 performance at the dish and drove in a run.
Game 3 vs. Concordia (Wis.)
The Lakers were held scoreless during five inning and allowed 11 runs against the Falcons in their final game of the season-opening tournament.
Pajot went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and a single.
Freshman Alyssa Thayer was tagged with the loss on the mound after allowing four earned runs in the first inning. The Falcons hit a pair of homeruns in the top half of the first, including a three-run shot and took a commanding 5-0 lead off the bat.
LSSU wraps the Finlandia Dome Tournament in Marquette, Mich. on Sunday with an 8 a.m. game against Edgewood.
