KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Arcadia softball team opened the season, finally, with a split of two games on the first day of its spring break trip on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Knights (1-1), had their first two dates postponed before finally opening the season in the Sunshine State. AU began the day with a 5-1 win over UMass-Boston before a 3-0 loss to UT-Tyler.
 
Arcadia 5, UMass-Boston 1
M.P. Murray allowed only an unearned run on five hits and a walk in 5.0 innings, and Hunter Schantz was 2 for 3 with two RBIs as the Knights cruised past the Beacons in the season opener.
 
An RBI single in the top of the first inning, resulting in an unearned run, put UMass-Boston up 1-0 in the early going. With two outs in the bottom of the frame, Alexis Burge doubled and Schantz followed with a run-scoring single up the middle to make it 1-1.
 
In the third, Schantz double to right center to bring around Jackie Bilotti, who had reached on an error, to push AU in front 2-1. A Julia Gessner double to in the gap allowed Isabella O'Hare, who had entered as a pinch runner for Schantz, to score and gave AU a 3-1 lead.
 
Burge padded the lead with a solo home run in the fifth inning, and Bilotti capped the scoring with an RBI single in the sixth inning.
 
Murray struck out eight in her 5.0 innings, and Brenna Dolan tossed the final 2.0 innings, giving up just one hit and striking out two, to pick up the save.
 
Burge finished 2 for 4 and scored twice for AU. Brooke Ward, Bekah Good and Kristin Cancelliere all added base hits for the Knights.
 
UT-Tyler 3, Arcadia 0
Kylee Schwind gave up just two hits, but the Patriots of UT-Tyler managed to pull off a 3-0 defeat of the Knights on Sunday.
 
Schwind allowed three runs on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 6.0 innings. She was matched pitch-for-pitch by UT-Tyler's Colleen Bentke, who yielded just three hits while striking out five in 7.0 shutout innings.
 
The Knights had a golden chance to strike first, getting back-to-back singles from Alex DeStefano and Bilotti to open things in the top of the first. However, a strikeout followed by a double play snuffed the chances at an early strike.
 
The Patriots got a walk by Nicole Garcia to open the bottom the first and Victoria Gonzales gave UT-Tyler a 2-0 lead with a home run. Gonzales drove in the third Patriot run in the third inning via a double to left that scored Mak Dominguez.
 
Bentke allowed just one hit after the first inning, a Cancelliere single in the sixth, as the Knights' offense sputtered in the nightcap.
 
The Knights are back in action on Monday with game against Carnegie Mellon and Meredith beginning at 10 a.m.