HACKENSACK, N.J. - The FDU Knights kicked off the season at home with a doubleheader against Sacred Heart.  

Sacred Heart started the game with momentum as Lopinto kicked off proceedings with a double into left center field, swiftly followed by Carroll's RBI double to put them ahead. Kowalski capitalized on the basepath as an error allowed Sacred Heart to extend the lead to 2-0. 

In the second inning, the Knights got on the board courtesy of a timely triple by Freshman Riley Cunningham, bringing in a run. Freshman Celeste Quezada then singled to right field, leveling the score at 2-2. 

The third inning saw another standout moment from a freshman, as Ayden Stone smashed a solo home run, her fourth of the year, to break the deadlock. 

Once FDU took the lead, they maintained control, with freshman Brooklyn Shroyer stepping up when needed. Shroyer faced some challenging situations but relied on her signature strikeouts to navigate through. In the fifth inning, with runners on second and third and just one out, Shroyer delivered two consecutive strikeouts to thwart the Pioneers' threat. She added two more strikeouts in the sixth and closed out the game with a nice play in the seventh with runners in scoring position. 

Brooklyn finished the game with eight strikeouts as she improved her record to 8-5 on the year. 

Julia Swan took the mound for game two and delivered an outstanding performance for most of the game. She pitched six scoreless innings, keeping the Knights in contention despite the offense's struggles. Swan showcased her dominance by striking out 11 batters. However, in the seventh inning, she yielded three earned runs, which ultimately proved too much for FDU to overcome. Prior to the seventh inning, Swan had tallied an impressive 13 consecutive scoreless innings on the mound. 

Although FDU managed to generate seven hits throughout the game, they were unable to convert them into runs. Twice, runners were thrown out on the basepath which ended up hurting the Knights down to stretch. 

The game concluded with a final score of 4-0 in favor of Sacred Heart.

Next up, the Knights will conclude the three-game series against Sacred Heart with a single game scheduled for March 24th at 12:00 P.M.