WINTER HAVEN, Fla – The USciences softball team held early three-run leads in both of its games down in Florida on Tuesday, only to fall victim to comeback losses against both Notre Dame College (9-4) and Saint Rose (7-3)  

Abbigail Markee and Gabrielle Simms reached base multiple times in each game, as both finished the day with four hits.  

Notre Dame

University of the Sciences answered an unearned run in the bottom of the first with a four-run second.

Samantha Biancoviso got it all started with a hit in her first collegiate at-bat, and Ashley Steiner and Simms followed outs with singles to load the bases with two away.

The Devils then came through with three straight RBI at-bats, as singles by Markee and Diane Torregrossa sandwiched a Gabriella Polera base on balls.

Notre Dame pulled one back in the bottom-half though, before breaking out for five runs on seven hits in the third.

University of the Sciences would strand multiple runners in both the fourth and fifth, and the Falcons would carry the momentum into their at-bats to score an unearned run in each.

Those were the lone blemishes against reliever Gianna Abruzese, who did not surrender an earned run in her 3.2 innings.

Biancoviso and Simms both finished 2-for-4, while Markee and Polera also reached base twice by going 1-for-2 with a walk and run a scored.

Saint Rose

Starter Paige Schlechter began her outing with four consecutive scoreless frames, thanks to Kaitlin Thompson throwing out a runner at the plate from left field, and Simms blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the third to open the scoring.

Kyla Valver had led off the inning with a single in her first collegiate at-bat, and Markee followed Simms' home run with a single of her own.

She then stole second before advancing to third on an error, allowing her to come home on Polera's RBI groundout.

Both teams went down in order in the fourth, and Saint Rose finally got to Schlechter in the fifth as back-to-back extra-base hits drove in four.

A Simms walk and Markee single with one out in the bottom-half unfortunately led to nothing, and USciences also stranded Thompson after her two-out single in the sixth.

The Golden Knights would then put things away with four unearned runs in the seventh.

Markee added yet another single in the bottom-half to complete a 3-for-4 performance.

Simms also reached base by finishing 2-for-3 with a base on balls.

Up Next

The penultimate day of USciences' trip is tomorrow, when the Devils take on California (Pa.) and Stonehill.