Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

HACKENSACK, N.J. – 30 total runs were scored by the Fairleigh Dickinson and Saint Francis University softball teams as the schools split a Northeast Conference doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at the FDU Softball Field. With the split, the Knights move to 8-16 (5-5 NEC) on the season, while the Red Flash find themselves 23-9 (4-2 NEC) overall.
 
"We hit the ball hard today but we came up short in game one," Head Coach Candi Letts said, "In game two we kept swinging and provided Loren [Stavrou] with a good lead. She pitched a good tough fought win."
 
Saint Francis jumped on game one starter Loren Stavrou (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson Classical High School) for three runs over the first two innings and never looked back, eventually taking the first contest by a 8-6 score after the Knights battled back late.
 
The two runs scored in the first inning were both unearned after back-to-back errors on second baseman Alex Portesi (Chino, Calif./Don Antonio Lugo). The Red Flash added a third in the second when Alexis Bower was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and two outs.
 
FDU got a run back when Emma Deluca (Vernon, N.J./Vernon Township High School) doubled Cheryl Lopez (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) in from first base, 3-1.
 
Stavrou got two outs in the fourth but walked and hit a batter to put two on and the junior was replaced by Megan Reiner (Los Angeles, Calif./John Marshall). The senior allowed a three-run home run to Bower to give the visitors a five-run cushion.
 
The Red Flash tacked on two more in the fifth, including the go-ahead seventh run when Kate Blattenberger doubled home Kindra Witthus. Blattenberger came around to score after Maggie Creciun tripled later in the frame.
 
Reiner worked in and out of trouble over the following two innings and the Knights came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh facing a seven-run deficit and nearly rallied back.
 
Courtney Slye (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley High School) led off the inning with a solo shot. Lopez and Deluca doubled and singled, respectively, before Stephanie Collins (Washington, N.J./Warren Hills Regional)' groundout scored the former. Madelaine Wilen (Bakerfield, Calif./Ridgeview High School) walked and all three of Portesi, Angelique Nieves (Union City, N.J./High Tech High School), and Bryana Dorado (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard) singled home one runner apiece to cut the lead to two. However, Madison Lerma (Escondido, Calif./Escondido) hit into a fielder's choice and Slye, who had started the inning, grounded out to end the rally.
 
Stavrou fell to 0-6 with the loss, while Chelsea Rex got her first win of the season. Blaire Lauthers started the contest and reentered the game and closed the door for her second save of the year.
 
FDU's momentum carried over into game two where the Knights loaded the  bases with one out and Lerma delivered a huge grand slam, her second of the season, to make it 4-0 early to the hosts.
 
Stavrou allowed just one hit over her first three innings but allowed a run in the fourth.
 
The Knights added two more in the fourth when Deluca knocked in her second teammate on the day with a double. Madelaine Wilen (Bakerfield, Calif./Ridgeview High School) doubled home pinch-runner Deborah Hong (Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford) and the hosts led 6-1 after four complete.
 
Saint Francis chipped away and got a second on a RBI double from Madison Cabell in the sixth but in the bottom of the frame, Portesi's go-ahead two-run double gave FDU a seven-run lead and the eventual difference in the final score.
 
Stavrou remained in the game for the final inning but allowed five runs on five hits, including a home run, but worked out of trouble for her first win on the season.
 
The junior finished the day with a 1-6 record. Portesi, Lopez, and Deluca all tallied four hits between the two contests.
 
The Knights return to action on Tuesday when they host a doubleheader against the Manhattan Jaspers at the FDU Softball Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. NEC Front Row will carry live video coverage.