BARTOW, Fla. – Mount Union's softball team split a pair of games on the third day of their Spring Break trip in Florida, falling in their first game of the day 6-4 against Wittenberg and winning their second game 9-3 against Albertus Magnus on Monday afternoon.

The Tigers (3-1) would strike first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning with Diana Quevedo hit a two RBI double to center field to take a 2-0 lead.

The Purple Raiders (4-2) would get a run back in the top half of the third when junior Faith Reicosky (North Canton / Hoover) hit an RBI single that scored fellow junior Lydia Brunner (Minerva) to cut the lead down to a run. Mount Union would then claim their first lead of the game in the following inning by scoring two runs off of RBIs from juniors Abbie Gayner (Akron / Revere) and Kaitlyn Culver (Girard) to take a 3-2 lead.

Wittenberg would reclaim their lead in the bottom half of the same inning scoring off RBIs from Gada Bryant, Julia Burch and Hanna Ecker to reclaim the lead at 5-3. The Raiders would once again answer in the fifth inning when senior Adri George (Eastlake / North) hit an RBI that scored Reicosky to cut the lead back down to a run.

However, the Tigers would add another run in the bottom half of the same inning this time off an RBI from Kaela May to push the lead back out to two runs. The Raiders wouldn't have an answer this time though as Wittenberg would go on to win 6-4.

Freshman Emma Reemsnyder (Canton / GlenOak) got the start in the circle for Mount Union and gave up five runs, two earned on six hits and struck out one in 3.2 innings of work. Sophomore Haleigh McCalla (Youngstown / Springfield Local) came in to pitch the final 2.1 innings and gave up one run, zero earned on three hits and struck out three.

The Raiders would strike first in their second game of the day when junior Sydney Mercer (Salem / West Branch) hit a solo homerun to left centerfield and then George hit a sacrifice fly RBI to score freshman Allison Jones (Berlin Center / Western Reserve) to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

The Falcons (1-2) would answer with a run of their own in the top of the second inning when Karla Carangelo hit a solo homerun to centerfield to cut the lead to a run. Mount Union would add a run in the bottom half of the same inning when freshman Lindsay Jones (Berlin Center / Western Reserve) had an RBI single that scored Brunner. They would then continue to stretch the lead in the next inning when senior Tori Sickafoose (Magnolia / Sandy Valley) reached first on an error by the Falcon shortstop and George scored and then Sickafoose scored on a single up the middle by sophomore Kaitlynn Bamler (Twinsburg) to push the lead out to 5-1.

Albertus Magnus would cut into the lead in the top of the fourth inning when Caragelo hit an RBI double to right field and then again in the sixth inning when Skylar Arent hit a solo homerun to right field to cut the lead down to two runs. However, the Raiders would add four runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning, starting with an RBI double from Mercer, followed by RBI singles from Jones and George to push the lead out to 9-3. The Falcons wouldn't be able to answer in the seventh inning as the Raiders would go on to win 9-3.

McCalla got the start in the circle for Mount Union in game two and gave up one run on one hit and struck out three in 1.2 innings of work. Junior Chloe Bird (Norton) would come in to throw 3.2 innings in relief and gave up two runs on six hits and struck out two. Freshman Daniella Vecchio (Monongahela, Pa. / Ringgold) would come in to throw the final 1.2 innings and gave up zero runs on one hit.

The Raiders are back in action on Wednesday, March 12 as they continue their Spring Break trip against Beloit at 9 a.m., followed by Husson at 11:30 a.m. at the Diamond Plex Complex in Winter Haven, Fla.