Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BRONXVILLE, N.Y.—Playing against the defending Skyline champions, Sarah Lawrence College softball suffered a pair of nail-biter, one-run losses to Mount Saint Mary College at Mary LeVine Field on Sunday.

IN SHORT
Mount Saint Mary defeated Sarah Lawrence, 3-2.
Mount Saint Mary (5-7, 2-0 Skyline) defeated Sarah Lawrence (5-11, 2-4 Skyline), 5-4.

GAME ONE
Both teams started the day with strong defensive efforts, as game one remained scoreless through three complete innings. MSMC went on the scoreboard first with a lone run in the bottom of the fourth.

In the fifth inning, junior Kamaron McNair (Lawrence Township, N.J./The Hun School) came to the plate and launched her fourth career home run and first of the season, smacking the ball over the left-center field fence. Rookie Mackenzie Mindish (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) singled in the inning yet was stranded, making it a 1-1 game after four and a half innings.

Mount Saint Mary retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth, 3-1.

In the top of the sixth, sophomore Taryn Penna (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) followed McNair's example and hit the Gryphons' second home run of the day. The homer was her second of the season and fifth of her career, making it a 3-2 game.

Sarah Lawrence fought off the Knights in the bottom of the sixth inning, recording a clean 4-6-3 double play from rookie Kelsey Copley (West Jefferson, Ohio/West Jefferson) to Penna to McNair.

McNair singled to start the seventh inning and advanced to second base on an error. Despite reaching scoring position, the Gryphons were unable to bring home either of their two base runners, and the Knights escaped with the narrow win.

Sophomore Mikayla Cunningham (Mayville, Mich./Millington) threw all six innings versus the Knights, allowing three runs on nine hits and one walk. McNair led the Gryphons from the plate, hitting 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run.

GAME TWO
In the second game of the day, the Gryphons' out-hit the Knights by a 7-5 margin, but one unfortunate inning made all the difference in the game's result.

Sarah Lawrence jumped on the scoreboard in the first inning, when Penna bunted for a hit to lead off the game. The Gryphon stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch before classmate Baylie Petit (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) singled to left field to bat home the game's first run.

After the SLC defense retired the first six Knights, Sarah Lawrence doubled its lead in the third inning. Once again, Penna singled to start off the inning and moved into scoring position for Petit to bat in a run for the Green and White.

In the fifth inning, Penna drew a two-out walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Junior Sarah Shapiro (Germantown, Md./Northwest) notched a hit in the inning, and Penna came home on an MSMC error, improving the Gryphons' advantage to 3-0.

Mount Saint Mary erased the Knights' deficit with a strong effort in the bottom of the fifth. Four hits and a pair of Gryphons errors yielded five runs for the visitors, who went in front, 5-3.

Sarah Lawrence got one run back in the sixth inning. McNair and rookie Karissa McAuley (Loudonville, N.Y./Colonie) led off the inning with back-to-back singles. First year Mackenzie Mindish (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) plated a run with a double to left-center field, but McAuley had to hold up at third base. Cunningham reached first base to load the bags, but the Gryphons stranded three runners in the inning, leaving the tying run 60 feet from home. Both MSMC and SLC were retired in order in their final at-bats, ending the day with another one-run loss for the Gryphons.

Penna finished the game 2-for-3 with three runs as one of six Gryphons to record a hit against the defending champs. Cunningham threw a complete six-inning game, giving up just five hits and two earned runs with two strikeouts.

UP NEXT
After playing four doubleheaders in as many days, the Gryphons have off until the weekend. SLC plays host to Skyline opponent Purchase College on Saturday before hosting league rival Farmingdale State College on Sunday. Both series are scheduled to start at noon.