AMHERST, Mass. - The Saint Joseph's softball team split a doubleheader at Massachusetts on Saturday as the Hawks fell 2-1 in eight innings in game one, but bounced back for a 7-1 win in the nightcap.

After seven scoreless innings in the opener, the Hawks got on the board in the top of the eighth as junior Kaylyn Zierke scored on a RBI single by senior Sarah Yoos to make it 1-0.

Unfortunately for SJU, Massachusetts struck for a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to prevail, 2-1.

For the game, Stacey Mayer went 3-for-3, while Zierke finished 2-for-4. In the circle, Anna Lauterbach fell to 2-6 on the year, allowing one earned run over 3.1 innings. Madison Clarke went 4.0 innings in the start, allowing five hits, while striking out a pair.

In game two, the Hawks jumped out to 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a Zierke RBI single then added to the lead in the third on a three-run homer by Zierke to take a 4-0 advantage.

The Minutewomen struck for a run in the sixth, but SJU added three insurance runs in the seventh to preserve the win. Madeline Brunck scored the first run on an RBI double by Yoos, while freshman Amanda Kulp scored on an RBI single by Hannah Dionne. Yoos came around to score the final run on an error by the left fielder to push the lead to 7-1.

In the circle, rookie Ashley Ventura improved to 5-5 on the year, allowing one run on five hits, while striking out six over seven innings.

Kulp went 2-for-3 at the plate scoring three times, with Zierke posting a 2-for-4 performance, collecting four RBIs including her team-leading sixth home run.

The two teams cap their three-game series at 2 p.m. on Sunday.