HAMPTON, Va. – The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team lashed out 11 hits and took an early lead but could not hold off Delaware State in a 4-2 loss Saturday morning at Hampton.
 
The Knights (2-6) scored two runs in the first inning on RBI hits by freshmen Hailey Ramberg and Jalyse Hanson, but the Hornets (1-13) countered with two runs in both the third inning and fourth inning to eventually take a lead they would hold the rest of the game.
 
Senior Madison Emerson led FDU at the plate, going 3-for-4 and reaching base in each of her last three plate appearances. Sophomore Riley De Laval went 2-for-4 with a run scored, and senior Summer Mendoza finished 2-for-3 with two singles. Junior Rylie Schmeh and freshman Jagger Datan also singled to run the Knights' total to 11 hits in the game compared to Delaware State's eight.
 
Sophomore Courtney Mahoney pitched all six innings for FDU, giving up three earned runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out three batters.
 
De Laval ignited the FDU hitting attack early with an infield single, and Ramberg lined a two-out double to right to plate De Laval for the first run. Hanson then singled home Ramberg to make it 2-0 Knights in the first half inning.
 
The Hornets tied the game in the bottom of the second on a two-run triple by Carissa Thorne, and they later in the third inning took the lead on a two-run homer by Caitlyn Meyer to go up 4-2.
 
FDU put runners on base in every inning and came close to tallying more runs in the fourth inning when singles by Mendoza and De Laval put runners on the corners with two outs, but Delaware State recorded the final out of the inning on a flyout. The Knights could not push a runner past second the rest of the way.

FDU also played host Hampton later in the day, falling 7-0 with De Laval recording FDU's only hit on a first-inning single. Sophomore Alayna Savaglio pitched all six innings of the game, recording nine strikeouts while allowing just four hits and three earned runs.

The Knights again face Delaware State to close out its Virginia trip on Sunday morning at 10 a.m., hosted at Norfolk State.