Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

HAMDEN, Conn. - The first of two midweek doubleheaders for Fairleigh Dickinson softball saw the Knights drop a pair of contests at Quinnipiac on Tuesday afternoon.

The Knights fell to the Bobcats 7-1 in game one and 8-2 in game two. The pair of losses moves Fairleigh Dickinson's record to 5-19 on the season while Quinnipiac improves to 11-14 in 2016.

Kellie Natham (Arcadia, Calif./Maranatha) finished the day 5-for-5 and scored a run over the two games. Madelaine Wilen (Bakersfield, Calif./Ridgeview) went 1-for-3 in game one and 1-for-4 in game two to extend her streak to 15 games of reaching base. 

Game 1 (Quinnipiac 7, FDU 1)

Quinnipiac took the first game of the doubleheader and got off to a quick start with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. The Bobcats went on to score in the fourth and the fifth to put the game out of reach.

Taylor Troyan had two RBI and Casey Herzog scored twice to lead the Bobcat offense. Troyan went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk and Herzog was 2-for-3 at the dish.

The Bobcats used a walk and an error to get the first two batters of the game on. Dani Edmonds singled to right to bring in Sarah Heimbach, who walked. Edmonds was then cut down at second on a designed steal play that scored Abby Johnson, who got on via the error.

Fairleigh Dickinson cut the lead in half in the top of the second. Madison Lerma (Escondido, Calif./Escondido) sand Kellie Natham (Arcadia, Calif./Maranatha) singled to start the frame. Reanna Cervantes (Upland, Calif./Upland) moved them over to second and third. Two batters later, Courtney Slye (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley) walked to load the bases and Stephanie Collins (Washington, N.J./Warren Hills) drew a five-pitch walk to force in Lerma. It was Collins' fourth RBI on the season and Lerma's 10th run scored.

A walk and an error set up the Bobcats in the bottom of the fourth. With first and third, the Bobcats executed a designed double steal play that scored their third run of the game. Casey Herzog singled, two batters later, to make it 4-1. After Maria Ascher walked on the 11-pitch of her at-bat, Sarah Heimbach singled to left to score Herzog.

Quinnipiac scored twice in the bottom of the fifth when Troyan doubled to left and scored Herzog and Emily Czaja -- both were unearned runs.

The Knights had chances to score but could not come up with the key hit. Fairleigh Dickinson left the bases loaded in the second, one in the third and fourth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh.

Cheryl Lopez (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) (3-8) suffered the loss. The junior pitched three and two-thirds while giving up five runs -- all unearned --, walking five and allowing four hits. Sydney Robey pitched six innings for Quinnipiac and picked up the win.

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Game 2 (Quinnipiac 8, FDU 2)

The second game started in a similar fashion for Quinnipiac as the home side scored four in the first.

The first three Bobcat hitters all reached -- two singles and a hit-by-pitch. Sydney Robey reached on an error that allowed two runs to score. Later in the frame, Emily Czaja hit a sacrifice fly to score one and Taylor Troyan singled to score the fourth run for Quinnipiac.

Neither team would score over the next three innings and stranded just five runners combined over that span.

Fairleigh Dickinson got one back in the fifth when Reanna Cervantes (Upland, Calif./Upland) reached on an error. Cheryl Lopez (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) also reached on an error to load the bases with no outs. Cervantes stole third, and then scored on the third error of the inning by Quinnipiac. Lopez would be stranded at second after the Knights ended the frame with a strikeout and a ground out.

The Knights got within two in the sixth when Kellie Natham (Arcadia, Calif./Maranatha), who finished the day 5-for-5 over the two games, doubled to lead-off the inning and was brought home by Madison Lerma (Escondido, Calif./Escondido) -- eighth RBI of the year. Fairleigh Dickinson would load the bases but Lopez groundout to end the frame.

Quinnipiac tacked on four insurance runs -- all with two outs -- in the bottom half. After a walk and two singles loaded the bases, Dani Edmonds hit a swinging bunt to score one and Robey singled to plate another to make it 6-2. The next batter, Sydney Dennis singled to left-center to drive in two more to move the score line to 8-2.

Loren Stavrou (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson Classical) (1-6), who pitched in relief in game one, took the loss in game two after going the full six innings and allowing eight runs -- four earned --, all of which came in two innings. Herzog (6-7) pitched a complete game and allowed two runs while striking out six.

The Knights return to action on Thursday for a doubleheader at Siena. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Loudonville, New York.