HACKENSACK, N.J. – After falling to Sacred Heart, 3-1, in game one, the Fairleigh Dickinson University softball team produced one of its strongest offensive games of the season with an 8-2 victory in game two. The Knights improve to 16-14 on the season, with a 5-5 Northeast Conference mark, while the Pioneers move to 18-18, with a 4-6 conference record.

Senior Mikayla Fernandez (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) led the Knights in the split against the Pioneers. Fernandez recorded five hits in seven at bats on the day with a double, a home run and three RBI. Freshman Courtney Slye (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley High School) also added a home run and paced FDU with four RBI in two games.

The Knights took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of game one on a home run to left-center field by sophomore Bryana Dorado (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard), her fifth of the season.

After three scoreless innings, the Pioneers tied the game at one with a home run of their own. A single, a hit batter and two walks enabled a run to score for Sacred Heart to take a 2-1 lead. The Pioneers then added a third run in the seventh with two consecutive doubles.

The Knights put two runners on in the seventh but could not produce a run to tie the game and ultimately fell, 3-1.

Freshman Loren Stavrou (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson Classical High School) took the loss in the circle after allowing three earned runs on seven hits. She struck out six and walked five in seven complete innings. 

Game two saw two scoreless innings to start before the Knights' bats heated up in the third inning. Julia Northcutt (Irvine, Calif./Northwood High School) started the inning with a single through the left side and advanced to second on a single by Madelaine Wilen (Bakerfield, Calif./Ridgeview High School). A single by Fernandez scored Northcutt to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. With two runners on base, Slye knocked a hit over the left-field fence for a three-run home run, giving the Knights a 4-0 lead.

Sacred Heart got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth when a runner scored from first on a double to left field.

Fernandez reclaimed a four-run lead for the Knights with a solo home run well beyond the left-field fence in the bottom of the fifth.

The Knights continued their offensive surge in the sixth inning when Emma Deluca (Vernon, N.J./Vernon Township High School)-Knighton hit a home run to right field to lead off the inning. Fernandez added another RBI by hitting a double with two runners on and scored on a double from Slye later in the inning. After six innings, the Knights led 8-1.

Sacred Heart recorded one run in the final inning to bring the final score to 8-2.

Overall, the Knights picked up 13 hits in game two, while holding Sacred Heart to just four.

Samantha Lemm (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional High School) picked up the win in game two, as she allowed two earned runs on four hits in 4.1 innings of work while striking out two and walking two. Sophomore Megan Reiner (Los Angeles, Calif./John Marshall) pitched 2.2 innings to start the game and struck out two and gave up no hits before leaving the game.

The Knights will have a quick turnaround, as they host Bryant University on Sunday, April 14. The twinbill is slated to begin at 12 p.m. in Hackensack.