Newburgh, N.Y. – In a battle of the last two undefeated teams in conference play, the Mount Saint Mary College Softball team and St. Joseph's-L.I. split a doubleheader on Tuesday. The Knights dropped game one 2-0, having a 23 game regular season conference winning streak stopped, but rebounded for an important 3-1 win in game two. Cindy Connoly (Walden, N.Y.) struck out 15 in game one, with Bridget Bennett (Gardiner, N.Y.) earning the win and driving in the game winning run in game two.
 
Game 1: St. Joseph's-L.I. 2 – Mount Saint Mary 0
The Knights outhit the Golden Eagles 5-3 in game one, but could not produce a run. The visitors plated the eventual game winning run in the top of the fourth inning and added an insurance tally in the top of the sixth to close out the scoring in the game.
 
The Mount put two runners on in the first, but could not get on the board and had two on in the sixth and the tying run to the plate in the seventh, but could not scratch out a run.
 
The Golden Eagles got on the board in the fourth when Lyndsay Smocer walked and advanced on to second on a sacrifice bunt. Smocer later scored the deciding run when Jillian McFadzen shot a two-out single through the right side for the 1-0 advantage.
 
The St. Joseph's lead doubled in the sixth inning when Kristen Arbiter drove a one out home run out to left center field to give the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead.
 
Five different Knights finished with a hit in the game, including Bennett who doubled. Connoly finished game one with a hit and drew two walks.
 
Connoly struck out a season-high 15 hitters in game one, allowing only three hits and two walks. She was outdueled by Theresa Cardello who won her eighth game, striking out eight Knights.
 
Game 2: Mount Saint Mary 3 – St. Joseph's-L.I. 1
Mount Saint Mary rebounded to earn the split in game two, getting a run in the in the third and two runs in the sixth to secure the win. The Knights were outhit 8-7 in the game, but produced a pair of extra base hits.
 
The Knights got on the board in the home half of the third inning when Amanda Almodovar (Goshen, N.Y.) walked and stole second with two outs. She came around the score the game's first run when Connoly drove a double out to left center field to get the Knights their first lead of the day.
 
After the Golden Eagles knotted the score at 1-1 in the top of the sixth, the Mount rallied with two tallies in the home half of the frame. Lauren Oury (Bethpage, N.Y.) started the rally with a one out single and later came home with the game winning run when Bennett drove a triple. Bennett later scored on a fielder's choice to put the Mount in front by two tallies.
 
Morgan O'Neill (Little Falls, N.J.) finished game two 2-for-2 with Oury and Bennett posting a hit and a run scored each. Almodovar walked twice for the Knights and scored a run, her team leading 29^th of the season. Connoly doubled and drove in her team-high 22^nd run.
 
Bennett moved to 5-6 on the season with 6.0 strong innings in the circle. She surrendered a run on seven hits in the game. She walked only two and fanned eight Golden Eagles. Connoly came on to work the seventh and picked up her first save of the season, allowing one hit and striking out one.
 
At 15-14 overall and 13-1 in Skyline Conference play, the Knights close out the regular season on Saturday when they travel to Farmingdale State. First pitch with the Rams is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.