Kissimmee, Fla. – The Mount Saint Mary College Softball team opened the 2017 season with a 5-2 win over Plattsburgh and a 7-1 loss to Washington College as part of the Rebel Games. Junior Cindy Connoly (Walden, N.Y.) struck out 11 in the win over the Cardinals and Michelle Surdan (Acton, Mass.) drove in a pair of runs in the opener.
 
Game 1: Mount Saint Mary 5 – Plattsburgh State 2
In the season opener, the Knights outhit the Cardinals 9-7 and jumped out to a 5-0 lead. After plating a single run in its first at-bat of the season, the Mount plated two runs in the third and then single runs in both the fourth and fifth innings.
 
The Knights got on the board in the first when Surdan delivered Shannon Sommer (Brewster, N.Y.) with a sacrifice fly. In the two run third, Surdan drove in her second run of the game with a single and Connoly later scored in the frame on a Breanna DePasquale (Brooklyn, N.Y.) single with one out in the inning.
 
Mount Saint Mary expanded its lead on a run scoring single from Connoly that plated Nicolette Moustouka (Seaford, N.Y.) before freshman Bridget Bennett (Gardiner, N.Y.) drove home Taylor Canto (Walden, N.Y.) in the fifth to close out the scoring for the Knights.
 
Sommer and Connoly each recorded two hits against the Cardinals with each player scoring a run. Surdan finished 1-for-3 with an RBI with Amanda Almodovar (Goshen, N.Y.) scoring a run and working a pair of walks.
 
Connoly picked up her first win of the season, working a complete game and allowing two runs on seven Plattsburgh State hits. She did not surrender a walk and struck out 11 Cardinals in her season debut. Rhea Pitkin suffered the loss and fell to 1-3 after throwing 3.1 innings and giving up four runs on seven hits.
 
Game 2: Washington College 7 – Mount Saint Mary 1
In game two of the day, the Knights scored their only run of the contest in the top half of the first inning. After Almodovar reached on a bunt single she come all the way around to score an unearned run after Connoly reached on an error with one out in the inning.
 
The Knights were held to just two hits in the contest and saw the Shorewomen plate three runs in the third inning and four more in the sixth to close out the win. The big blow in the third inning was a two-run triple from Leah Stokes, while Stokes and Alli Saul produced run scoring base hits in the sixth.
 
Almodovar and Moustouka recorded the only hits in the contest for the Knights, with Connoly, DePasquale and Bianca Marletta (Brooklyn, N.Y.) drawing walks in the game.
 
Bennett made her first career start in the circle for the Mount, suffering the loss after allowing three runs on two hits in 2.2 innings of work. She struck out two and allowed six walks in her first outing of the season. Marletta came on to work 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on five hits.

At 1-1 overall on the season, Mount Saint Mary will be back in action in Florida with two more contests. The Knights will matchup with Wisconsin Lutheran at 9:00 a.m. before tussling with Utica at 1:30 p.m.