CLERMONT, Fla. - The Saint Michael's College softball team fell twice during the National Training Center Spring Games on Wednesday, dropping an 8-0 decision to New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) in five innings and a 5-2 contest with the University of Minnesota Crookston. The Purple Knights are 0-6.

During the opener with NYIT, first-year Jessica Barnett (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) doubled, while senior Bethany Falls (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) and sophomore Judi Barcavage (Cold Spring, N.Y./Haldane) both added singles. First-year Rachel Tshonas (Ellington, Conn./Ellington) took the loss after allowing all eight runs in 4.2 innings.

Redshirt senior Melissa Bradway (Fair Oaks, Calif./Sierra CC) and junior Averie Schroeder (Twin Falls, Idaho/South Idaho) were both 2-for-3 with two runs for the 2-4 Bears, and sophomore Lia Matz (Port Jervis, N.Y./Delaware Valley) fired the three-hit shutout.

Junior Sonia Marin's (Elko, Nev./Feather River) leadoff homer in the bottom of the second provided NYIT with the only run it needed, with one more run coming home that frame and Schroeder's RBI single making it 3-0 in the third. Falls and Barcavage both singled with two out in the fourth before the tying run came to the plate but left the duo stranded. Three more Bears scored on three hits in the fourth, and NYIT tacked on two runs in the fifth, including its eighth run before the final out of the inning occurred, bringing the mercy rule into effect.

Falls was 2-for-2 with an RBI and two walks against Minnesota Crookston, as she moved into a tie for 17th in program history in career hits (77), matching Shannon Dufresne '98 and passing Jen Kielbasa '00 (75) and Jaime Cronin '95 (76). Seniors Amanda Brigante (Colchester, Vt./Colchester) and Greer Lemnah (Lyndon Center, Vt./Lyndon Institute) were both 2-for-3 with a run, with Lemnah also being hit by a pitch. Sophomore Danielle DelGreco (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) had two hits and an RBI, while first-year Danielle Barbato (Hillsdale, N.Y./Taconic Hills) knocked her first college hit, a double. Classmate Jane Erlandson (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) took the loss after allowing three earned runs in 5.2 innings.

For 2-7 Minnesota Crookston, sophomore Allison Foley (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, a run and a double, and junior Josee Plante (Manitou, Manitoba/Nellie McClung Collegiate) finished 3-for-4 with a run. Senior Paige Schaust (Delano, Minn./Western State Colorado) tossed four shutout innings for the win, yielding three hits, and first-year Bailey Braatz (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) earned the three-inning save.

Erlandson worked around a runner at third base with one out during a scoreless second inning, and DelGreco's leadoff knock in the home half also went for naught. Junior catcher Sarah Murray (Wallingford, Conn./Sheehan) caught a runner trying to swipe second base in the third, and Lemnah was plunked, Brigante singled and Falls walked with one out in the bottom portion of the frame before the Purple Knights stranded the trio.

The Golden Eagles broke the deadlock with three runs on two hits and an error in the fourth, with only one run earned due to the miscue and a two-out sacrifice fly. Erlandson stranded two runners in the fifth, and Lemnah singled before Falls walked with two down, but neither came around. Two more Minnesota Crookston runs came in during the sixth inning, and the Purple Knights countered in the bottom of the seventh. Lemnah and Brigante knocked back-to-back one-out singles, and Falls and DelGreco came through with RBI base hits. The tying run came to the plate with two down but popped up.

The Purple Knights complete their Spring Break trip tomorrow against a pair of challenging foes, opposing 17th-ranked Caldwell (N.J.) College at 4 p.m. and 2013 NCAA World Series qualifier Kutztown (Pa.) University at 6 p.m. Caldwell was also a 2013 NCAA East Region 2 Tournament finalist.