FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team (5-15, 5-13 NEC) won the four-game series with three of four wins over the past two days, but split today's contests against Sacred Heart (9-17, 7-11 NEC) on Sunday afternoon from Pioneer Park. FDU won game one 5-4 in 10 innings and fell 2-1 in game two.

In game one, senior Rylie Schmeh drove in the game-winning run in the 10th inning with a sacrifice fly that scored graduate student Madison Emerson. Emerson went 3-5 from the dish with a double and three RBI's. Sophomore Cassidy Triska also went 3-5 with a double and scored a run. Sophomore catcher Hailey Ramberg went 1-3 with an RBI single. Junior Alayna Savaglio pitched all 10 innings, posted a complete game, recorded six strikeouts, and has now won four straight starts.

In game two, sophomore Malori Bell pitched 6.0 innings and only allowed two runs and five hits. Triska drove in FDU's run with a double in the top of the first that scored junior Courtney Mahoney.

Coach Foye's Thoughts
"As a team we fought long and hard for 10 innings straight. A big accomplishment for us was that we scored in the first inning of all four games this weekend which definitely helped set the tone. We made some great plays and got some big outs to hold them scoreless in extra innings. It was a huge win for us with great defense and pitching and being able to battle back after they tied it up."

"Cass was on fire this series and today the ball just wasn't carrying like yesterday. She hit 2 balls to the fence that might have been HR's and was robbed of a HR on an over the fence catch that would have tied the game in the 7th. She continues to hit the ball hard and get great swings at the plate."

"Rylie has improved tremendously in the past week and looks so much more comfortable in the box. She did a great job putting the ball in play and finding gaps and getting the go-ahead RBI in the first game."

"Malori pitched her best game of the year unfortunately we didn't help her on the offensive side today. She battled hard today getting out of some tough spots and I expect big things from her the rest of the season as she continues to work hard and improve."
Game 1: FDU 5, Sacred Heart 4 (F/10)
How it Happened

• Savaglio took the hill for FDU in game one and retired Sacred Heart in order to open the game in the bottom of the first.
• Triska led the second inning off with a single to left field and eventually came around to score off an RBI single from Ramberg to take a 1-0 lead.
• After Sacred Heart scored two runs in the bottom of the second, FDU's offense matched the Pioneers with two runs of their own, off a single to right field from Emerson to score graduate student Summer Mendoza and freshman Megan Berg as FDU now led 3-2.
• Sacred Heart added a run in the bottom half of the third and after Savaglio retired the side in the bottom of the fourth, Triska and Emerson both singled and got on base in the top of the fifth, but the Pioneers were able to get out of the jam.
• After two more clean innings from Savaglio, FDU took a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh with an RBI double from Emerson that scored Mendoza.
• Sacred Heart tied the game in the bottom half of the inning and had runners on second and third with two outs before Savaglio forced a pop up to end the inning and force extras.
• After a scoreless eighth and ninth inning that featured a hit from Mendoza, Emerson started the inning on second and was moved to third on a double from Triska, and came around to score off a sacrifice fly from Schmeh to give FDU a 5-4 lead.
• Savaglio retired the first two batters of the bottom of the 10th, intentionally walked the next batter and forced a pop up to win the game 5-4.

Game 2: Sacred Heart 2, FDU 1
How it Happened

• Triska plated home the first run of the game in the top of the first when she roped a ball to left field to score Mendoza and give FDU a 1-0 lead.
• Bell started game two on the mound for the Knights and set the Pioneers down in order to end the first inning and got the final two batters of the second out as Sacred Heart got runners on second and third in the second.
• Bell again pitched lights out in the third, fourth, and fifth inning as she retired all nine Pioneers that came to the dish as FDU still held a 1-0 advantage.
• The Pioneers were able to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-run single and held on to win 2-1.

What's Next
FDU will play a non-conference mid-week series against Drexel on Thursday, April 22 beginning at 2:00 p.m.