The Fairleigh Dickinson University softball team swept a two-game series against Mount St. Mary's in Emmitsburg, MD on Saturday, April 30. The Knights defeated the Mount, 4-3 in nine innings in game one and 8-2 in game two. With the wins the Knights improve to 25-21 on the season with an 8-10 record in the Northeast Conference.
The Mount scored the first runs of the series with an RBI single in the first and a one-run homerun to left field in the second. A fourth-inning homerun from freshman Maria Roney (Anacortes, WA/Anacortes) put the Knights on the board but they trailed 2-1 after five innings.
In the top of the sixth the Knights added one run on an RBI double from junior Caitlin Bradac (Garden Grove, CA/Garden Grove) that drove home Maria Roney (Anacortes, WA/Anacortes). A single from Mikayla Fernandez (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) drove in Meghan Russell (Bristow, OK/Bristow) who pinch ran for Bradac, giving the Knights a 3-2 lead.
The Mount was quick to respond with a run in the bottom of the sixth on a bases loaded walk. The run tied the game at three after six innings. The game remained scoreless through the end of seven innings, sending the game to extra innings.
After a scoreless eighth innings, Paige Castro (Elk Grove, CA/Franklin) began the ninth with a single down the right-field line. Kirsten Shreve (Kent, WA/Kentwood) advanced Castro to second on a sacrifice bunt before Marikka Benson (Lacey, WA/Timberline) walked. Castro was called out at third when Roney reached first on a fielder's choice, leaving runners on first and second with two outs. A single from Bradac scored Benson to give the Knights a 4-3 lead. FDU held the Mount scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to take the win, 4-3.
Bradac pitched six full innings and allowed three runs, while striking out five batters. Shreve relieved Bradac in the seventh inning and picked up the win after three innings of work with no hits allowed.
Benson began the third inning of game two with a single up the middle. She took second on a sacrifice bunt from Roney. Bradac singled though the left side to advance Benson to third. A single by freshman Berkleigh Massey drove home Benson to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
A homerun from Fernandez drove in three runs to extend the lead to four runs.
The Mount scored one run in the third when a Mount batter singled down the right-field line with two runners one. They added one run in the fourth on a bases loaded walk to bring the score to 4-2.
In the fifth inning the Knights picked up one unearned run before an RBI single from Maire Shaughnessy (Culpeper, Va./Highland) and a two run single from Castro increased their lead to 8-2.
Although the Knights did not score after the fifth inning of play, Bradac recorded her 48th hit of the season in the sixth inning to become the single-season hits leader in FDU softball history. The single up the middle helped her surpass Fernandez's record of 47 hits in a season which was set last season.
Shaughnessy earned the win in game two, bringing her record on the mound to 9-7. She allowed just two runs on eight hits.
"Shreve did a great job shutting the door in the final three innings," said Head Coach Dale Martin. "She helped us win game one with her strong performance."
"We did a nice job stringing hits together and it was nice to see our bats come alive today," Martin added. "Now we're hoping to carry that into tomorrow."
The Knights will conclude the season on Sunday, May 1 with a home double-header against Long Island University.
