CLERMONT, Fla. – Emmanuel softball lost both of their games on Thursday at THE Spring Games in contests with Neumann and Susquehanna. The Saints are 1-7 through eight games to open their season.

GAME ONE: Neumann 7 – Emmanuel 3

The Saints were down early in their opening game of Thursday morning, allowing two runs in both of the first two innings. A Knights two-run double in the first led to a 2-0 edge, followed by an RBI triple and wild pitch in the second, doubling the Neumann lead to 4-0.

Neumann added another pair in the fifth on a pair of RBI singles for a 6-0 lead. They added an additional run in the top of the sixth on a double steal to hold a 7-0 advantage.

Emmanuel got on the board in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI groundout by first-year Rylee Smith, scoring sophomore Molly Carnes, to break up the shutout. The Saints added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh with RBIs by sophomore Grace Garon and first-year Lucy Weineck, as the Saints fell in game one, 7-3.

Garon continued her strong Florida swing, finishing 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of doubles and an RBI. The sophomore center fielder is batting .545 through seven games with an OPS of 1.532. Junior MeKayla Poisson added a 2-for-4 morning to go with a stolen base.

GAME TWO: Susquehanna 20 – Emmanuel 8 (Final / 5 Innings)

In the second game of the day, Emmanuel hopped out to a 3-0 in the early innings thanks to a pair of runs scored in the first on a River Hawks error. Then in the top of the second, a bases loaded walk produced another RBI for Garon, as the Saints led 3-0.

But Susquehanna overtook the Saints early lead with the seven-run bottom of the second as four River Hawk singles produced five runs, to give the lead to Susquehanna, 5-3. They added two more runs in the bottom half of the inning, to hold a 7-3 edge.

Susquehanna added five more runs in the bottom of the third, extending the lead to 12-3. But the Saints battled back in the top of the fourth, using an RBI single by Garon and a grand slam home run by senior Emely Rodriguez, cutting the deficit to 12-8.

The River Hawks responded in the bottom half of the fourth, posting eight runs, including a two-run triple by Brianna Jones and a three-run home run by Mya Morales, on the River Hawks way to a 20-8 victory.

Junior Francesca Pizzarella finished the game batting 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. Rodriguez added a 1-for-3 day while collecting a career-high six RBI. Garon batted 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and two RBI.

UP NEXT

The Saints wrap up the Florida swing at THE Spring Games on Friday with games against the University of Northwestern and Brandeis.