NEWBURGH, NY – Needing only one win to clinch a spot in the Skyline Conference tournament, the Mount Saint Mary College softball team collected two victories, defeating Polytechnic by scores of 6-2 and 11-3. The Blue Knights improved to 12-21 overall and to 7-7 inside the conference. The Blue Jays dropped to 11-17 overall and to 8-6 in the Skyline.

In the first game, the Blue Knights tied it at two in the third inning on a run-scoring triple by senior Jessica Thibault (Watertown, Conn.). They took the lead for good in the fourth as freshman Danielle Orender (Wall, N.J.) tripled to bring home two more runs and give the Mount a 4-2 lead. Orender later scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead to three. An RBI single by senior Christina Maiocco (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) in the fifth yielded the final score of 6-2.

Senior Erin Lappe (Goshen, N.Y.) went the distance for the Blue Knights, striking out ten while allowing just six hits and two runs. She improved to 7-7 on the season with the victory.

Orender finished game one 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. Maiocco was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

In game two, Mount Saint Mary was on the scoreboard early and often, racking up two runs in the first, five in the second, and three in the third. Sophomore Jackie Governale (Plainedge, N.Y.) collected RBIs in all three innings, doing so by way of an RBI groundout and two singles. Freshman Destiny Scott (New Paltz, N.Y.) drove home the first run of the third inning with a triple to make the score 8-1.

Junior Amy Romito (Washingtonville, N.Y.) delivered the knockout blow in the fifth inning, singling home Thibault with the Mount's eleventh run and forcing the game to be called because of the mercy rule.

Maiocco struck out four in the five innings of work while allowing eight hits. It was her second victory in as many days and she improved to 3-6 on the season.

Scott finished 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a run batted in. Governale was 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Thibault was 1-for-1 with three runs scored and Romito was 2-for-2 with a run scored and a run batted in.

With the victories, the Blue Knights have qualified as the fourth seed in the Skyline Conference tournament. They will travel to Farmingdale to take on the top-seeded Rams on Wednesday, April 26. The start time for the game has yet to be announced.