NEW YORK – The Fairleigh Dickinson University softball team split a twin bill against the Lions of Columbia University on Tuesday, April 2 in Manhattan.  The Knights fell, 5-4, in the bottom of the seventh inning in game one and earned a 10-7 win in game two.  The Knights maintain a .500 record, now with a mark of 12-12, while the Lions move to 12-14 on the year.

The Knights began game one with a walk by Madelaine Wilen (Bakerfield, Calif./Ridgeview High School), followed by a single to left field from Cindy Zamudio (Wilmington, Calif./Redondo Union).  With two runners on, Bryana Dorado (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard) reached on a fielder's choice and drove in Zamudio to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

FDU added two runs in the top of the third after Zamudio led off with a double to right center field and advanced to third on a groundout.  Dorado again drove in Zamudio on a single to right field to increase the Knights' lead to 2-0.   Before the end of the inning, senior Mikayla Fernandez (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) doubled to drive in Dorado and give the Knights a third run.

The Lions responded in the fifth inning with one run after the leadoff batter doubled and scored on a single.

With two outs in the sixth, the Knights scored a fourth run.  With runners on the corners, freshman Julia Northcutt (Irvine, Calif./Northwood High School) took off the steal second.  Hayley Floyd (Selah, Wash./Selah High School) stole home on the throw to increase the Knights lead again.

The bottom of the sixth saw two runs scored by the Lions to cut their deficit to just one run.

The Lions produced a double to center field to start the bottom of the seventh and scored a run to tie the game on an RBI triple to right center.  With a full count, the next batter singled to right field to drive in a walk-off run.  The Lions took the win, 5-4.

Sophomore Megan Reiner (Los Angeles, Calif./John Marshall) earned the loss in the game with five earned runs allowed on eight hits through 6.2 innings.  She struck out three and walked one to move to 1-7 on the year.

Collectively, the Knights produced seven hits, including two each by Zamudio and Courtney Slye (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley High School).  Dorado paced FDU with two RBI in game one.

The Lions struck first in game two with one run in the bottom of the first.

After a scoreless second, the Knights started a string of hits with a single by Northcutt.  Wilen doubled to advance Northcutt and give the Knights runners on the corners with no outs.  A groundout by Zamudio scored Northcutt to put the Knights on the scoreboard and moved Wilen to third.  When Slye reached on a fielding error, Wilen scored to give the Knights a 2-1 advantage.  Consecutive singled by Dorado and Fernandez loaded the bases before Floyd drew a walk to put the Knights ahead, 3-1.

The Lions responded with three runs on four hits in the bottom of the third to reclaim the lead, 4-3. 

The Knights bats came alive in the top of the fourth as they produced seven runs on six hits and two Columbia errors in the inning.  Singles from Wilen, Nieves, Slye and Dorado gave FDU three runs quickly in the inning.  While Dorado attempted to steal second, Slye stole home to put the Knights ahead 7-4.  Another RBI double by Fernandez coupled with another single from Wilen and an RBI walk by Zamudio gave the Knights an eventual 10-4 lead.

Columbia added one run in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings but could not catch the Knights.  Starting pitcher, Maire Shaughnessy (Culpeper, Va./Highland), pitched 4.1 innings and allowed six runs on 10 hits to earn the win.  Shaughnessy moves to 5-2 on the year.  Freshman Loren Stavrou (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson Classical High School) relieved Shaughnessy, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing one earned run on one hit.

The teams combined for 26 hits and 17 runs in game two.  FDU produced 15 hits, led by three from Wilen, Nieves and Dorado.  Zamudio led the team in RBI with three in the second game.

On the day, Slye and Dorado both had four hits, while Zamudio and Dorado each had three RBI.

The Knights will return to Northeast Conference action on Sunday, April 7 as they host Robert Morris in a noon double header in Hackensack, N.J.