NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Limited to just three hits in game one and two hits in game two, the Mount Saint Mary College softball team lost a pair of non-conference games to Western Connecticut State University on Friday. The Knights (11-17) dropped the opener, 10-0, and the second game, 13-0.

In game one, the Colonials jumped out to an early lead as junior Amy Hartman (Ellington, Conn.) crushed a two-run home run to left field. Hartman followed up with a line drive home run in the second inning, making the score 7-0 in favor of Western Connecticut. A double down the left-field line by sophomore Danielle Basciano (Holmes, N.Y.) in the third inning capped the scoring for the Colonials and gave them a 10-0 advantage.

Sophomore Magen Dargon (Trumbull, Conn.) and junior Brittany Connors (Waterford, Conn.) combined on a three-hit shutout. Dargon struck out six in three innings of work to claim the victory. Connors struck out two in the final two innings.

Hartman finished game one 2-for-3 with two runs scored and five runs batted in. Basciano was 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI, while senior Katelyn Farrell (Stratford, Conn.) batted 2-for-3 with two runs batted in and a run scored.

For the Mount, sophomore Danielle Orender (Wall, N.J.), junior Jackie Governale (Bethpage, N.Y.), and freshman Victoria DeMarco (Hicksville, N.Y.) recorded the only hits of the game for the Knights. DeMarco doubled to right-center in the second inning, but was left stranded.

In game two, Western Connecticut took full advantage of six errors by Mount Saint Mary. The Colonials scratched out two runs in the second inning on consecutive run-scoring groundouts by sophomores Samantha Avery (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and Melissa Fracker (Sandy Hook, Conn.). Then, in the fourth frame, WestConn blew the game open with six runs. Hartman continued the error-aided rally with a two-run single through the right side and then came around to score on a triple by junior Luigiana Facchini (Voluntown, Conn.).

The Colonials tacked on five more runs in the fifth inning and Dargon came on in relief to close the door on a five-inning victory. Senior Kara Cullinane (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) worked the first four innings of the contest and allowed just two hits while striking out two. Cullinane worked a no-hitter into the fourth, but back-to-back singles by Mount senior Amy Romito (Washingtonville, N.Y.) and junior Sarah Johnson (Montgomery, N.Y.) ended the bid.

Basciano added two more hits to complete an impressive performance in the double-header. Fracker and junior Anna Levesque (Waterford, Conn.) also rapped out a pair of hits for the Colonials in game two.

With tomorrow's double-header at Farmingdale postponed due to inclement weather, the Knights return to action on Sunday with a Skyline double-header against St. Joseph's College. The Mount will host the Golden Eagles in a 1:00 p.m. start.