BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Nicole Reeder (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Carroll) smacked a home run in the seventh inning to lift Mount St. Mary's past Long Island 1-0 in the first game of a Northeast Conference (NEC) softball doubleheader on Sunday. The Blackbirds came back to win the nightcap, 6-5.

Reeder broke a scoreless tie when she led off the seventh inning with a home run to left center for the only run in the game. It was the sophomore's first home run of the year and the second of her career after smacking a roundtripper against Wagner on Apr. 13, 2008. Reeder added two hits and an RBI in the nightcap.

Jamie Fowler (Hagerstown, Md./South Hagerstown) tossed a complete-game three-hit shutout with five strikeouts for the Mount (7-24, 3-4 NEC) in the first game while Beth Everist (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) added three hits, four RBIs and two runs scored, including her fourth home run of the year in the nightcap.

Brynn Lewis paced the Blackbirds (13-14, 5-1 NEC) with three hits, including drilling a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs to hand Long Island the 6-5 win in the nightcap. Chelsea Martinson added a 3-for-4 performance in the nightcap with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Despite falling in the opener 1-0 courtesy of Reeder's dinger, the Blackbirds jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the nightcap in the first inning. Martinson doubled home the game's first run on a double before Renae Beauchman plated the second run on a single up the middle.

Mount St. Mary's came back to tie the game after registering a run in each the second and third. Everist singled to start the second and came around to score on Reeder's RBI single to left field to trim the margin to 2-1. In the third, Kristin Fusco (Laurel, Md./St. Vincent Palotti) singled to open the third inning and touched home on Everist's single down the left field line to knot the contest at 2.

Long Island retook the lead in the fourth by scoring three runs. Bianca Mejia started the rally with a home run before Martinson tripled to bring home the second run of the inning and Sterling Hoham singled up the middle to plate Martinson for a 5-2 edge.

Mount St. Mary's answered right back in the next stanza to tie the game at 5. After Taylor Beebe (Olympia, Wash./Capital) reached on a fielder's choice and Lisa Curreri (Clinton, N.J./North Hunterdon) was hit by the pitch, Everist smashed a three-run home run to square the game for the second time.

On the verge of extra innings, Lewis hit a home run to left field with two outs in the seventh to give the Blackbirds the win and earn the split.

With the game tied at 5, the Mountaineers had a chance to take the lead in the sixth after putting runners on the corner with no outs. Reeder opened the inning with a ground-rule double before Amanda Buckel (Finksburg, Md./North Carroll) singled to right field with no outs, but Long Island end the threat with a pair of groundouts to third and a groundout to shortstop. In the seventh, Amanda Burk (Bristow, Va./Stonewall Jackson) singled to left with one out, moved to second on an Everist groundout to the pitcher and to third on a passed ball before a popup got the Blackbirds out of the jam.

Reeder handed the Mount its first win against Long Island to end a six-game skid against the Brooklyn program with her homer in the seventh inning. Fowler was on her game in the opener to earn her second shutout of the season. Mejia led off with a double in the first, but was left there after Fowler struck out the next two batters and ended the inning with a popup to Burk. Beauchman started the next stanza with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, but a popup to Burk and a groundout to Curreri got Fowler out of the jam. The Blackbirds put a runner on first in the fourth, fifth and seventh, but could not get a runner past second base.

Mount St. Mary's improves to 3-1 in the first game of a league doubleheader. The Mount started the league slate against the four teams that participated in the NEC Tournament in 2008 and have posted a 3-4 mark in those games.

The Mount returns home to start a six-team homestand on Wednesday against Howard. Game time is 3 p.m.