The Fairleigh Dickinson University softball team fell to Hartford, 5-1, before defeating Manhattan, 11-5, on Tuesday  at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, FL.

Against Hartford in the first game of the day, FDU put the first run on the board in the top of the third inning. Hope Hilman (Bremerton, WA/Olympic) started things off drawing a walk and Meghan Doherty (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) advanced her with a sacrifice hit. Brianne Benedict (Alliance, OH/West Branch) singled to right field and advanced to second on the throw, pushing Hilman across the plate.

Hartford took the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and added three more in the sixth inning to make the final 5-1.

Justina Augustine (Geneva, NY/Geneva), Lindsay Glidden (Peachtree City, GA/Starr's Mill), Hilman and Benedict each had a hit in the loss. Trina Fields (Norridge, IL/Ridgewood) was on the mound for the Knights, striking out three.

“It was a good game,” said Head Coach Dale Martin.  “We were in it for a while, but we gave up a big inning again. We played relatively well; we just needed some timelier hitting. We left eight people on base that we didn't capitalize on and unfortunately they did.”

In the win against Manhattan, both Ali Keltos (Shelton, CT/Lauralton Hall) and Brittany Sheppard (Mahwah, NJ/Paramus Catholic) were 3-for-5, scoring two runs each. Doherty was 1-for-2 with three RBI and Hilman was 2-for-4 with three runs batted in. Augustine added two RBI.

The Jaspers started the game off with two runs, but the Knights responded with a very strong six-run first inning and added four more runs in the third inning. Manhattan picked up three runs in the fourth, but the Knights sealed an 11-5 win in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Ashley Buchanan (West Windsor, NY/West Windsor) earned the win, pitching a complete game, She allowed two earned runs and struck out five.

“It was a very good game for us, we got a lot of the hitting that we needed,” said Martin. “Though the statistics won't necessarily show it, Ashley pitched a good game. I thought we showed patience with our bats and it paid off. We were solid defensively throughout the day.”

The Knights have an off day on Wednesday and are back in action on Thursday, March 20 against Iona at 11:00 a.m. and Rider at 3:00 p.m.