Farmville, Va. (February 28, 2026)--Mount St. Mary's softball came up short in a pair of losses on Saturday at the Bank of the James Invitational hosted by Longwood.  The Mount opened the day with an 11-6 loss to Youngstown State before falling to Penn, 8-1, in the evening.

Youngstown State jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first two innings before the Mount rallied for five runs in the top of the third to tie the score.  LIa Festa and Avery Dinges each singled to put runners on the corners, and the duo then pulled off a successful double steal to put the Mount on the scoreboard.  Gina Del Giorno singled, and another double steal allowed Dinges to score to make it 5-2.  Kelsie Bandelow's infield single brouight home Del Giorno, and after a Zoe Pachoca base hit, Tristin Koerner doubled to bring home two runs to tie the game at 5-5.

The Penguins answered right back with three runs in the bottom of the third for an 8-5 lead.  The Mount got a run back in the fourth on an error, but Youngstown State sealed the win with two runs in teh fourth and one more in the fifth for the 11-6 victory.

Dinges led the Mount going 3-for-4 at the plate while Festa, Koerner and Pachoca each added a pair of hits.  In all, the Mount generated 12 hits in the contest.  Erin Cromwell pitched the final 2.2 innings, allowing a pair of runs with starter Ellie Meier pitching the first 3.1 innings of the game.

In the second game, Penn scored eight times in the bottom of the first to cruise to the 9-1 victory.  The first seven Quakers reached base as Penn totaled eight hits and eight runs in the frame.  The Mount's run came in the third inning when Dinges singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then scored on another wild pitch.

Five different Mountaineers each recorded a hit in the game while Kaya Hannon allowed an unearned run in 3.2 innings of relief.

The Mount concludes the tournament on Sunday with games against Hampton and Longwood.