SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – FDU softball (0-5, 0-0) wrapped up their season opening weekend in the USD/UCSD Co-Host Tournament on Saturday and Sunday. The Knights dropped a doubleheader to Colorado State and Omaha on Saturday, and lost to Omaha on Sunday afternoon.
The Knights started day two of the tournament by sending sophomore
Madison Dollard out into the circle against Colorado State. The Rams quickly jumped out in front, taking an 8-0 lead by the third inning behind some high-powered offense. Kaylynn English blew things open for Colorado State, drilling a grand slam in the third inning. Despite the deficit, the Knights' offense was able to start clicking for the first time, after being shut out in the first two games of the tournament. FDU got some traffic on the bases in the fourth inning, and
Ayden Stone hit a sacrifice fly to bring in a run. She was followed by
Rebecca Merkes, who hit an RBI single to help keep the Knights' offense moving. Even with the improved offense, the Knights were simply not able to keep up with the Rams' bats. Colorado State tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning, ending the game with a 10-2 victory.
Heading into game two on Saturday night, the Knights faced a formidable Omaha team. The Mavs immediately took things over, putting up eight runs on the second inning to jump ahead of the Knights. The pitching tandem of Alexis Wiggins and Alyson Edwards neutralized the Knights' bats, holding FDU to just one hit across five innings of action.
Jordyn Hemingway picked up the only hit of the night for FDU, breaking up a combined no-hitter in the fifth inning. Omaha walked away with a 14-0 victory in five innings of play.
On Sunday, the Knights faced Omaha yet again in a rematch of Saturday night's loss. The Omaha offense immediately jumped on the FDU pitching staff for the second day in a row, taking a 5-0 lead in the first inning. The Knights fought back, as
Kailee O'Sullivan hit a two-run single in the third inning to cut the Mavs' lead to 5-2. From that point on, Omaha turned the offense back on. The Mavs put up six runs in the fourth inning, and seven runs in the fifth to walk away with an 18-2 victory in five innings.
FDU will return back to the east coast and gear up for the George Mason Tournament, beginning on Saturday February 21. The Knights will face both Hofstra and George Mason twice in the weekend clash.
