MADISON, N.J. (April 6, 2019) – The FDU-Florham softball team picked up 7-3 and 5-1 victories over Eastern University on Saturday afternoon.

The Devils are now 7-14 on the season, including a 4-4 mark in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom. Eastern is 4-20, 0-8 in the conference.

GAME 1: FDU-Florham 7, Eastern 3
Junior Gabby Young got the Devils started by leading off the game with a walk and promptly swiped second. After moving up a wild pitch, she scampered home on a fielder's choice ground ball by classmate Tara Morash. The Eagles leveled the game in the second thanks to a run-scoring double.

After the next two scoreless frames, the Devils broke through for five runs on three hits in the fourth. With one down, freshman Dana Giardina and sophomore Nicole Casale worked walks. A wild pitch moved both runners up a base before freshman Emma Gaffney singled them both home. Two batters later, sophomore Hunter Ruppel knocked Gaffney in with a double to center. After sophomore Taylor Tobey singled to load the bases, Young and Morash collected RBI's with a walk and fielder's choice respectively.

The Eagles pulled within three after scoring twice in the top half of the sixth. Both runs were unearned and came with two outs. FDU closed out the scoring in the bottom of the sixth, as Young singled and stole both second and third before scooting home on an errant throw. Junior Megan Zaccario set the Eagles down 1-2-3 in the seventh to end the opener.

GAME 2: FDU-Florham 5, Eastern 1
Only one baserunner for either team reached base over the first two innings, and that runner was erased on a Devils double-play. The two sides each registered hits in the third, as freshman Moran DeLoreto singled through the left side the Devils first hit of the afternoon.

Eastern took the lead in the top of the fourth, scoring an unearned run on an error by the Devils shortstop. The Devils pushed a run across in the fourth, using a little small-ball. Morash led off by reaching on an error before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Dani Sames. Gaffney dropped a single into right field to put runners on the corners. Casale dropped down a squeeze bunt to score Morash and tying the game at one.

The Devils took over in the fifth, scoring three times on five hits. With one out, Ruppel smacked a triple into right-center field and scored on a hit by Tobey. Young and Morash singled to load the bases before Sames notched a single to centerfield. DeLoreto capped off the scoring in the fifth, delivering an RBI single. Staked to the four-run lead, sophomore Kaleigh Oplinger allowed just two baserunners on no hits over the final two innings to preserve the 5-1 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
•    Ruppel had extra-base hits in both games while driving in her first run of the season.
•    Young reached base four times and stole three bases over the two contests.
•    Zaccario earned her first victory of the season in the first game, while Oplinger struck out four in the nightcap to level her record at 5-5.

UP NEXT
The Devils are on the road tomorrow, taking on St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn in a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.