Viera, Fla. - The Marian softball team split their Friday doubleheader in the Florida sun, as the Knights lost their Crossroads League opener against Mount Vernon Nazarene, before rebounding in the second act of the twin bill with a win. Marian is 7-2 overall on the season following the split, and 1-1 to begin CL play. 

Game One | Marian 1-5 Mount Vernon
Alayna Tesnar's strong start to the season came to an abrupt halt in the Knights' first game Friday afternoon, as the sophomore faced her first dose of adversity with Mount Vernon Nazarene recording four consecutive base hits in the bottom of the first inning, scoring a pair of runs. Tesnar would come back with a scoreless second inning, but in the third, Marian's undefeated pitcher was roughed again, as she yielded four base hits, seeing the Cougars score two runs. Macy Coan came on in relief in the bottom of the third to try to cut the damage, doing so but not before seeing Mount Vernon rope an RBI single to extend their lead to five runs.

Coan would settle in after returning to the circle and shutout the Cougars in her last three innings of work, but the Marian offense was unable to match the performance, failing to score until the sixth inning. The Knights had an opportunity in the top of the third inning to break their shutout, but with two runners in scoring position, Abby Madere came up short in recording an RBI base hit, ending the frame on a groundout. Delaney Rundle's single in the fourth inning and Alyssa Donaldson's fifth inning double were both unprotected as the runners got stranded, with the Cougars pitching a shutout through five complete.

In the top of the sixth inning, Marian was able to break their scoring drought as Ally Malone scored on an Delaney Rundle's batted ball, with Rundle picking up the two-out RBI. Marian was unable to keep the rally going in the sixth inning, and in the seventh, Abbey Hofmann landed a two-out single, however, it was not enough, as the Knights went on to fall 5-1.

Hofmann went 2-4 in the loss, while Alyssa Donaldson had a double coming off the bench. Alayna Tesnar (4-1) was charged with the loss in the game, allowing nine hits and five runs, all of them earned. Macy Coan pitched 3.2 innings in relief, striking out three batters against three base hits. 

Game Two | Marian 4-1 Mount Vernon
After being shut out through five innings in game one, Marian wasted no time in game two getting on the board as Abbey Hofmann led the game off with a triple. Two batters later, Abby Madere hit a sacrifice fly, bringing in her fellow outfielder to give Marian a 1-0 lead. Marian then plated another run in the third inning, as Madere picked up an RBI single to score Karly Anderson, giving the Knights a 2-0 lead. 

Lexi Smith got the start in the second game, and was able to start the contest on a strong note, pushing past a lead-off single in the bottom of the first to pitch a scoreless inning, while in the second, Marian turned an inning-ending double play after the Cougars picked up a one-out double. Smith then retired the side in order in the bottom of the third inning, and in the next frame, Karly Anderson picked up an RBI to score Ally Malone after the shortstop reached base with a lead-off walk. 

Leading 3-0, Smith continued to groove in the circle, retiring the side in order in the fourth inning, while in the fifth the freshman overcame a lead-off walk and single, getting three straight outs to strand a pair of runners. The Knights then scored their final run of the game in the top of the sixth as Mati Hughes plated Malone with an RBI double, putting Marian on top 4-0. Smith would return in the home half and pitched a scoreless inning, while in the seventh, the freshman allowed an unearned run in the process of closing out the team's 4-1 victory. 

Smith (2-1) pitched the first complete game of her young career Friday afternoon, allowing four hits and one unearned run in her second victory of the season. Smith saw six total base runners reach the game in the win. At the plate, Abbey Hofmann had two hits and scored two runs, while Abby Madere enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing. Ally Malone scored Marian's other two runs in the game, getting one hit and drawing one walk. 

Marian plays on Saturday against Clarke and Lawrence Tech, finishing their Florida games at 10:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.

MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos and more.