TUCSON, Ariz. (March 15, 2017)  – Junior Lauren Shirley homered and drove in six runs, senior Amanda DiLeo collected three hits and drove in five, and the Stevens Institute of Technology softball team defeated the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Suffolk University on the fourth day of competition at the Tucson Invitational Games.

Senior Emily Sellitti went 5-for-8 in the two games, scoring four runs, and junior Corinne Loncar went 6-for-9 with four runs scored and two runs batted in, as Stevens improved to 7-3 on the season.

Stevens 9 University of Wisconsin-Platteville 6
In the day's opener, Shirley's third-inning, three-run home run powered the Ducks to a 9-6 victory.

Stevens jumped on UWP starter Taylor Emrath (0-2) for two runs in the opening inning, as the Ducks jumped out to an early lead. Sellitti led the game off with a double and moved to third after Hailey Truman misplayed Farryl Groder's grounder. After Groder stole second, Loncar pushed a ball through the left side of the infield to drive in the game's first run.

With runners on the corners, the Ducks executed a delayed double steal when Loncar broke for second and when catcher Thianna Wegner threw to try to nab the Stevens shortstop, Groder broke for home and easily scored to push the lead to 2-0.

After the Pioneers evened the game, Shirley's home run gave the Ducks a 6-3 advantage.

Stevens extended its lead in the fourth. Sellitti singled up the middle to begin the inning. Groder advanced the third baseman to second and Sellitti moved to third on Loncar's single to left. Shirley collected her fourth RBI of the afternoon on a sacrifice fly. Freshman Melissa Alfonso kept the inning moving with a single to left. DiLeo followed with a double to left, scoring Alfonso and Loncar to give the Ducks a 9-2 lead.

Marissa Cappello (1-1) pitched six innings to earn her first victory of the season. The right-hander allowed five earned runs on seven hits while striking out seven. 

Olivia Gemma pitched a perfect ninth for her first save of the season. 

Stevens 9 Suffolk University 3
In game two, Stevens scored nine unanswered runs to come-from-behind to defeat Suffolk, 9-3.

After spotting the Rams a 3-0 lead after one, Stevens finally got on the board against Ali Yamakatis (2-2) in the third, scoring times to tie the game. Groder began the rally, reaching on an error by shortstop Karina Miranda. Loncar singled to left. Shirley doubled to left to score Groder. After Gemma struck out, Alfonso dropped a ball in front of left fielder Morgan Parmeter to score two runs.

After adding a run in the sixth on a Loncar RBI single, the Ducks broke the game open in the sixth. Sellitti led off with a single through the right side of the infield and moved to second on a wild pitch. Groder singled. After a Suffolk pitching change, Loncar promptly greeted Jaclyn Flint with a RBI single. After an infield single, Flint induced a double-play ball from Gemma for the first two outs of the inning. Alfonso walked to keep the inning alive. DiLeo singled to left to score Loncar and Shirley. Gina Schnecker continued the inning with a single, prompting another pitching change. With Hannah DelCervo on the mound, Suffolk attempted to pickoff Schnecker at first and when first baseman Lindsay Pagano holding the ball, Alfonso broke for home and DiLeo broke for third. When Pagano attempted to nail the runner, Schnecker deftly headed for second. All three runners were safe on the play and Stevens had an 8-3 lead. 

Sellitti scored on a wild pitch in the ninth for Stevens' final run.

Christina LaRochelle (3-2) allowed three runs on eight hits in spinning her second consecutive complete game. After allowing three runs in the first, the lefty retired 13 of the final 15 batters she faced and finished the day with four strikeouts. 

Up Next: The Ducks wrap up play at the 2017 Tucson Invitational Games with a doubleheader with Eastern Connecticut State University and Trinity (Texas) University. Live stats links for both games are available at StevensDucks.com. 

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