Softball Opens Season In Florida

LEESBURG, Fla. -- Salem State opened up their 2022 spring trip with a pair of doubleheader losses. The Vikings lost to Hamilton 10-5 and Franklin & Marshall 11-1 in five innings on Monday. Loras clipped Salem State 4-2 while Hamline won 8-0 in five innings.

Mackenzie DeSantis went 3-for-4 with three RBI's in the season opener. Sydney Chiasson added a 2-for-4 day, but Salem State managed just one other hit in the game. DeSantis gave the Vikings a 2-0 lead with a two-run single in the third, but the Continentals scored the next six runs to take a 6-2 lead in the third. A single by DeSantis and a double by Payton Jeffers helped draw Salem State to within 6-5 in the fifth, but Hamilton added a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth innings to pull away for the victory. 

Franklin and Marshall used a six-run fourth to secure an 11-1 five inning victory in game two. Dawn Eisnor plated the only run for Salem State with an RBI single in the fourth. 

The Vikings battled Loras, losing 4-2 despite managing just three hits. Emily Carter pitched a complete game, scattering 11 hits; allowing four runs with three strikeouts and one walk allowed. The Duhawks opened up a 4-0 lead before a passed ball gave the Vikings their first run in the fifth. Chiasson, who had two hits in the game, cut the lead to 4-2, but Loras held on for the two-run victory.

Hamline allowed just one hit, a fifth inning single by Hannah Magee, in winning 8-0 in five innings. Starting pitcher Carter allowed eight runs - six earned - with a pair of walks in the loss.