HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team concluded the 2019 season by honoring the careers of their four senior players before dropping both games of a doubleheader to Saint Francis U, 11-0 and 6-2.
 
The Knights (14-35, 4-10 NEC) collected only four hits in the first loss but then racked up eight hits in the second game that was tied at 1-1 through four innings, but the Red Flash (26-28, 10-6 NEC) then scored five runs over the final three innings to help secure their second win of the day.
 
Seniors Reanna Cervantes, Serena Meehan, Holly Mercier and Baylee Ports were all highlighted in a pregame ceremony and played their final games of their collegiate careers. Meehan led all Knight players with three hits on the day, including a 2-for-3 effort with a RBI in the late game. Mercier also smacked two hits in her final game with the Knights, and Cervantes singled in the fourth inning of the second game for her 158th and final hit of her career.
 
Ports threw a complete game in the opener, striking out seven batters to run her career total to 210 strikeouts, finishing fifth all-time in program history. She also finished the season with 91 strikeouts, the seventh most by a Knight in a single season.
 
After pouring in 11 runs in the first five innings to take the first game, the Red Flash also started the second game with the first run on a RBI single by Hayley Norton. Two innings later, Meehan tied the game with a RBI single to center that brought home freshman Riley De Laval.
 
The Red Flash then retook the lead in the fifth with two more runs, but the Knights fought back with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Sophomore Rylie Schmeh singled to lead off the frame, and two batters later, freshman Jillian Ward lined a base hit to center that brought Schmeh around from second base, making it 3-2. Meehan singled to keep the inning going, but the next batter was retired to end the threat.
 
SFU then scored another run in the sixth and two more in the seventh on their way to closing out the game with the lead.
 
Junior Erica Johnson struck out one batter over six-plus innings of work in the loss, allowing nine hits and four runs (three earned).
 
For Cervantes, she finished her four years with the Knights second in program history in doubles (38) triples (five), home runs (19), RBI (85), and total bases; third in hits (158); and fourth in runs scored (69) across 498 at-bats (fourth most by a Knight) and 170 games played (tied with Mercier for fourth most by a Knight). She also finished with the best slugging percentage in program history at .528, and is third all-time in career batting average (.317) and sixth in career on-base percentage (.361).
 
The two losses end the 2019 season for the Knights, who cancelled Sunday's scheduled home games with Robert Morris due to forecasted rain and will not be making up the games with both teams out of contention for the NEC Tournament.