JAN PHYL VILLAGE, Fla. - The Saint Michael's College softball team returned to Florida for the first time since 2019 while suffering a pair of season-opening losses on Friday at The Spring Games. The Purple Knights fell against the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (Pa.), 6-2, and 2021 NCAA Tournament qualifier Northwood (Mich.) University, 7-0, at the Auburndale Softball Complex.

GAME 1
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (0-1), Pitt-Johnstown (6-1)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• First-year Kelleigh Simpson (West Burke, Vt./Lyndon Institute), 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K in relief
• Junior Hannah Arruda (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth), 1-for-1, 1 R
• Senior Leigh Brandenburg (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury), 1-for-2, 1 R
• First-year Jenna Devens (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany), 1-for-3, 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K in relief
• Junior Haley Waghorn (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs), 1-for-3
• Junior Jackie Cherry (Franklin, Mass./Franklin), 0+ IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Sophomore Kayla Miehl, 3-for-4, 1 R, 5 RBI, 1 HR
• Senior Taylor Mendicino, 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B
• Redshirt senior Olivia Porter, 2-for-4, 2 R
• Sophomore Julie Shinavski, 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

GAME FACTS

• Devens picked up her first college hit.
• The teams met for the second time, last squaring off on March 16, 2019.

THE ACTION

• The first five batters reached in the first inning for the homestanding Mountain Cats, who led 5-0 after Miehl's grand slam.
• In their college debuts, Simpson and Devens allowed only an unearned run on six hits from there.
• In the top of the sixth, sophomore Angelica Johns' (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) based-loaded grounder drove home Brandenburg, while Arruda scored on a two-out error to make it 5-2. With a chance to edge closer, the Purple and Gold left the bases loaded.
• Miehl's two-out RBI single plated an unearned run in the home half.

GAME 2
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (0-2), Northwood (12-4)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Devens, 1-for-1, 2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 1 K
• Waghorn, 0-for-2, 1 BB
• Cherry, 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K in relief
• Junior Sadie Pratt (Dighton, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth Regional), 0-for-2, 1 BB

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Delanie Grundman, 2-for-2, 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SF
• Junior Haley Frank, 3-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SF, 1 SB
• Junior Madelin Skene, 1-for-2, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 2B
• Sophomore Emily Cox, 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
• Junior Anna Gustafson, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K in relief
• First-year Brynn Polega, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K in relief

GAME FACTS

• The teams had met only once previously, on March 15, 2018.
• Northwood qualified for the 2021 NCAA Midwest Region Tournament.

THE ACTION

• In the top of the first inning, Frank knocked an RBI single before Grundman immediately followed with a two-run single, later making it 4-0 when she scored on a bases-loaded walk.
• Devens singled with one down in the home half but was erased on a fielder's choice.
• Grundman added an RBI single in the second before Frank and Grundman swatted back-to-back sacrifice flies in the sixth.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday vs. East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (11:15 a.m.), Dominican (N.Y.) University (2:30 p.m.) and Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania (4:45 p.m.) in Winter Haven, Fla., during The Spring Games.
• East Stroudsburg was the 2021 NCAA Atlantic Regional runner-up.