Smithfield, R.I. (April 25, 2014) – In a battle of the top two teams in the Northeast Conference softball standings, second-place Mount St. Mary's dropped two games to first-place Bryant, falling by scores of 2-0 and 4-1 at Conaty Park on Friday afternoon.

GAME ONE
BRYANT 2 – MOUNT 0

The Mount could not overcome two Bryant runs in the fifth inning in a 2-0 loss in game one. The Mount's offense sputtered in the first game with two hits, while Bryant pitcher Elle Madsen tossed a complete-game shutout with five strikeouts.

Mount pitcher Nicole Pagano tossed six innings, yielding two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts.

The Mount had a runner past first base just once in game one when Tori Belloc hit a single through the right side and advanced to second when Jessica Greenewald grounded out in the sixth. Belloc was stranded at second when Madsen was able to get the third out of the frame.

Bryant did all of its damage in the bottom of the fifth when back-to-back singles led to two runs. Madeline Velasquez picked up the first RBI before Madsen followed with a single down the leftfield line for another run.

Belloc and Rachel Gavigan recorded base knocks for the Mount in the first game.

GAME TWO
BRYANT 4 – MOUNT 1

Mount St. Mary's began game two on the right foot with a first-inning run, but Bryant responded with two runs in the first and two more in the sixth in a 4-1 win for the Bulldogs.

In the first, Greenewald reached base on a Bryant error and moved to second on Megan Baker's sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, Cat Clifford delivered an RBI single down the leftfield line for a 1-0 Mount lead.

The lead disappeared in the bottom of the first when Madsen knocked a two-run home run over the centerfield fence for a 2-1 edge for the Bulldogs.

The Mount's next scoring threat came in the top of the third with Belloc moving to second base after a single and Greenewald's sacrifice bunt. Madsen was able to work out of the jam, however, getting the next two Mount batters to ground out.

In the bottom of the sixth, Bryant tacked on two more runs off Mount pitcher Sam Lichtner, who came in out of the bullpen to relieve Pagano. With runners on second and third, Liana Ogata picked up an RBI groundout, and Kendall Corder followed with an RBI single for a 4-1 Bryant advantage.

Pagano pitched the first five innings for the Mount, striking out three batters while giving up two runs on six hits to take the loss. Madsen hurled a complete game three-hitter for the Bulldogs, giving up just the one run.

On Sunday, the Mount heads to Central Connecticut State for a doubleheader beginning at noon.