Newburgh, N.Y. – The  Mount Saint Mary College Softball team topped Sarah Lawrence in a Skyline Conference Championship First Round elimination game on Wednesday in six innings by a score of 9-1. Sophomore Morgan O'Neill (Little Falls, N.J.) scored the win in the circle and drove in three runs for the Mount.
 
After Sarah Lawrence put a pair of runners on in each of its first two at-bats and stranded five over the first three innings, the Mount broke the game open with six tallies in the home half of the third frame. The Knights pounded out five hits in the third and sent 11 hitters to the plate, forcing Sarah Lawrence starter Bailey Nguyen from the contest.
 
Jillian Picarillo (Troy, N.Y.) led off the frame with a single for the Knights before an error and infield single loaded the bases with no one out. O'Neill got the Knights on the board with a two-run single that delivered Picarillo and Amanda Almodovar (Goshen, N.Y.) ahead of a run scoring base hit from Lauren Oury (Bethpage, N.Y.) that pushed the Mount in front 3-0.
 
Bridget Bennett (Gardiner, N.Y.) and Alyssa Hernandez (Middletown, N.Y.) followed with run scoring sacrifice bunts before Picarillo closed out the scoring in the inning in her second at-bat of the frame with an infield single to shortstop that brought home Bennett.
 
After Sarah Lawrence got on the board with its only run of the day in the fourth, the Mount ended the contest early with three tallies in the bottom of the sixth. The Knights strung together five hits in the inning, including three straight from Picarillo, Almodovar and Nicolette Moustouka (Seaford, N.Y.) to start the frame. Picarillo crossed with the first run of the inning on run scoring fielders' choice with O'Neill and Bennett following with RBI singles for the Knights.
 
Mount Saint Mary outhit Sarah Lawrence 11-6 in the contest and featured four players with multiple hits in the gamet. Picarillo rounded out the day 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI with Almodovar, Moustouka and O'Neill all recording two base hits. Moustouka scored twice for the Knights with O'Neill finishing with three driven in. Bennett drove in two runs for the Knights, going 1-for-3 with a run scored in the contest.
 
Bennett made the start for the Mount and worked the first 3.0 innings, allowing a run on just one hit. She fanned two, but walked five. O'Neill came on for the win in relief firing three shutout frames and striking out four in moving to 5-4 on the season. Nguyen suffered the loss for the Gryphons, allowing three earned runs on five hits in 2.2 innings.
 
At 14-20-1 overall on the season, Mount Saint Mary moves on to the double elimination portion of the tournament and will take on St. Joseph's-L.I. on Friday. First pitch with the Golden Eagles on the campus of Farmingdale State is slated for 4:00 p.m.