Patchogue, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Softball picked up a split of a Skyline Conference doubleheader at St. Joseph's-L.I. on Sunday, falling in game one 2-1 before rallying for a 6-4 game two victory. Junior Emily Lang (Westtown, N.Y.) finished the victory 4-for-5 for the Knights.
 
Game 1: Mount Saint Mary 1 – St. Joseph's-L.I. 2
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the opener with a run in their first at-bat that held until the seventh inning. After Jenna DeFina singled and moved to third following a stolen base and groundout, she scored the game-first run off an RBI single from Elise Grau with two outs in the inning.
 
The one run advantage held until the Mount's final at-bat of the game, when it evened the score at 1-1. The Knights scored with just one hit in the inning when Bridget Bennett (Gardiner, N.Y.) scored on a run scoring groundout off the bat of Erin McCann (East Haven, Conn.). Bennett led off the frame with the Mount's only hit of the inning, a single to center field.
 
After the Mount got the game even, St. Joseph's strung together two hits and plated the game winning run with two outs in the seventh. Grau led off the inning with a single, with Meagan McClinchey driving in the deciding run with a two-out double.
 
Hits in the game were even at 5-5, with Bennett finishing up 2-for-3 for the Mount with a run scored. Amanda Almodovar (Goshen, N.Y.) recorded a hit and stolen a base for the Mount, with Morgan O'Neill (Little Falls, N.J.) and MacKenzie Hymes (Middletown, Del.) supplying the other hits for the Mount.
 
DeFina and Grau each finished with two hits for St. Joseph's with Grau and McClinchey producing the game's only RBI. DeFina and Zoe Kelly each scored a run for the Golden Eagles.
 
Bennett took the tough luck loss in the circle for the Knights and fell to 2-3 on the season. She worked 6.2 innings and surrendered two runs on five hits while striking out five. Catherine Zucker earned the win, striking out six in the complete game effort.
 
Game 2: Mount Saint Mary 6 – St. Joseph's 4
After falling behind 3-0 after one inning in game two, the Mount outscored the Golden Eagles 6-1 over the final six frames to earn the split. The Mount evened the score at 3-3 with three tallies in the second and put single runs on the board in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
 
After falling behind early, the Mount strung together four hits in the second frame and took advantage of an error to get the game knotted at 3-3. With two outs and no one on, Nicolette Moustouka (Seaford, N.Y.) started the rally with a single and later scored, along with Almodovar, on a two-run single from Lang. Bennett later scored the tying run when she scampered home on a wild pitch.
 
Mount Saint Mary grabbed its first lead of the game in the fourth when O'Neill drove in Moustouka with a groundout, but the Golden Eagles answered right back in the fourth and tied the game at 4-4 on a Franzelyn Russo home run.
 
The Knights retook the lead in the fifth and tacked on an insurance tally in the sixth to close out the scoring in the game. Lauren Oury (Bethpage, N.Y.) drove home McCann with the eventual game winning run with a double in the fifth, while Alyssa Hernandez (Middletown, N.Y.) drove in Jessica Ehret (Broad Channel, N.Y.) with a single in the sixth.
 
The Knights pounded out 14 hits in the game and featured four players with multiple hits in the contest. Lang led the offensive attack by going 4-for-5 with two RBI, while Almodovar finished with 2-for-5 with a run and a stolen base. O'Neill finished 2-for-5, with Moustouka turning in a 2-for-4 effort with a pair of runs.
 
O'Neill scored the win in relief for the Knights with 3.1 innings of work. She moved to 3-3 on the season after not allowing a hit and fanning five.
 
Sunday's split moves Mount Saint Mary to 8-14 overall on the season and to 7-1 in Skyline Conference play. Next up for the Mount is a home date with Ramapo on Wednesday. First pitch with the Roadrunners is set for 3:00 p.m.