Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team was unable to score a run, as the team was swept by Central Connecticut on Saturday at the FDU Softball Field. The Knights suffered a very tough loss in the opener, 1-0, before the dropping the nightcap, 5-0. With the victories, the Blue Devils improve to 20-11 (6-2 NEC) on the season, while FDU falls to 10-15 (1-3 NEC) overall.

Junior Megan Reiner (Los Angeles, Calif./John Marshall) (7-4) was sensational in the circle in the opener for the Knights despite being charged with the loss. Her lone mistake was a two-out solo home run off the bat of Arielle Bruno in the top of the third. Reiner went the distance for the eighth time this season, allowing the one earned run on just three hits (two to Bruno) while walking none and striking out eight.

Laura Messina of CCSU also went the distance to pick up the victory in the classic pitchers' duel. She also allowed only three hits, walked one and struck out nine.

FDU had a chance to put a run on the board in the bottom of the first after sophomore Madelaine Wilen (Bakerfield, Calif./Ridgeview High School) led off the inning with a single before advancing to second on freshman Alex Portesi (Chino, Calif./Don Antonio Lugo)'s sacrifice bunt. But the next two batters could not capitalize with Wilen in scoring position.

Messina would retire 11 straight batters until issuing a lead-off walk to junior Cindy Zamudio (Wilmington, Calif./Redondo Union) to start the bottom of the fifth. She would eventually reach third base with two outs but was unable to score.

The Knights looked primed to score in the bottom of the sixth when they put runners on second and third with one out. Junior Angelique Nieves (Union City, N.J./High Tech High School) popped out on a bunt attempt, and fellow classmate Bryana Dorado (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard) hit a first-pitch rocket to the third baseman, who made a great play to throw out Dorado at first to end the inning and the threat.

In the bottom of the seventh, FDU went down in order to give the Blue Devils the 1-0 victory.

In game two, both teams put both starting pitchers from game one back out in the circle. Reiner ran into early trouble in the first and yielded an RBI single in the top of the first to Tessa Brown with nobody out, which gave CCSU the early 1-0 lead. Reiner would eventually escape a jam with runners on second and third with no further damage.

With one out in the top of the third, Brown came through again for the Blue Devils with another RBI single to extend the visitor's advantage to 2-0. Reiner would then be pulled after the next batter, Alexis DeBrosse, reached on a dropped fly ball by right fielder Madison Lerma (Escondido, Calif./Escondido). Sophomore Loren Stavrou (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson Classical High School) then came in relief and induced an inning-ending 5-3 double play on a lineout.

The Blue Devils would score a run in the top of the fourth before tacking on two more in the top of the fifth to increase the lead to 5-0, with the latter runs coming on a pair of back-to-back-two-out RBI doubles.

The Knights could never construct any real threats in the contest, as Messina limited FDU to only five hits while picking up her second complete-game shutout on the day. She walked none and struck out 10.

Reiner (7-5) was charged with her second loss of the day after lasting only 2.1 innings. She allowed two earned runs on four hits, walked one and struck out three. Stavrou gave up three runs, two earned, on six hits and recorded two strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work. Senior Samantha Lemm (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional High School) struck out two in her 1.0 inning of relief.

Portesi and sophomore Julia Northcutt (Irvine, Calif./Northwood High School) each had two hits to lead the Knights' offense. Brown collected three hits and two RBI, while Bruno tallied three more hits on the day and scored twice to pace offensive performance for CCSU, who finished the game with 11 safeties.

The Knights will return to Northeast Conference action on Sunday when it welcomes Mount St. Mary's to the FDU Softball Field for a doubleheader. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 12 p.m.