WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Arcadia University softball program split with King's College for the second-consecutive day to split the weekend series, as the Knights defeated the Monarchs in six innings with an 8-0 victory before falling in ten to the hosts, 2-1.

Alexa Vardiman finished the doubleheader 5-for-8 with three doubles and two runs driven in, while the Arcadia pitching staff of Kylee Schwind, Juliana Presto, and Brenna Dolan combined to throw 16 innings while allowing only one earned run over the two games.

ARCADIA 8, KING'S 0 (FINAL/6)
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Kylee Schwind picked up where she left off a night ago in the circle Saturday, stranding the bases loaded in the second with an infield fly and a ground out before the Knights backed her with some run support in the top of the third. Alex DeStefano and Madi Costigan singled ahead of an Alexis Burge walk to load the bases with one away, before three-straight run-scoring singles from Megan Sooy, Alexa Vardiman, and Kayla Pscolka brought all three baserunners around to score. Morgan Tripodi plated the fourth run of the inning on an RBI groundout to cap the frame.

-The Knights tacked on another run in the fourth to extend their lead before adding to more in the fifth. Vardiman and Pscolka lined back-to-back doubles to leadoff the inning before Brooke Ward plated pinch runner Isabella O'Hare for the second run with a perfectly-executed bunt play. Vardiman put the finishing touches on the game one win an RBI single to left, her third hit of the game, to extend the Knight lead to eight in the sixth.

-Schwind and Juliana Presto combined for six shutout frames in the circle in the win, as Schwind picked up her fifth win of the season while Presto delivered two and two-thirds innings of scoreless and hitless relief while striking out three.

KNIGHT OFFENSIVE LEADERS 
-Vardiman: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI
-Pscolka: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI

KNIGHT PITCHING LEADERS
-Schwind: W (5-2), 3.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 K
-Presto: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 3 K
 

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ARCADIA 1, KING'S 2 (FINAL/10)
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Following a scoreless two innings from both sides to open game two, the Knights struck for the game's first run in the third on a Costigan sacrifice fly but the Monarchs answered with an unearned run to draw even in the home half. Those two runs were the only ones scored for the next six innings as Brenna Dolan shut down the Monarch offense with six strong innings and no earned runs charged to her in the tough-luck decision.

-The Knights were able to get the go-ahead run in scoring position on a few occasions in the late innings before the international tiebreaker rule went into effect where the Monarchs took advantage of back-to-back bunt plays to plate the winning run and earn the series split with the Knights with the 2-1 victory the tenth.

KNIGHT OFFENSIVE LEADERS
-Costigan: 2-4, RBI
-Vardiman: 2-4, 2B

KNIGHT PITCHING LEADERS
-Dolan: 6 IP, 4 H, R (0 ER), 2 K
-Presto: 3.1, 0 H, R, 4 K

UP NEXT
Arcadia (10-4, 7-3 MAC Freedom) travels to Delaware Valley Tuesday for the first of four games this week with the Aggies. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.