GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – The Cairn University softball team fell in a non-conference doubleheader on the road against Gwynedd Mercy University, dropping game one by a 12-3 score, and nearly claimed the second game before the Griffins came back to win by a 10-8 margin.
 
Gwynedd Mercy (5-17) got the early advantage in game one after plating four runs in the first inning. Cairn (3-13) answered with a pair of runs in the third frame courtesy of a two-RBI double by junior Theresa Beck (Lansdale, PA / Dock Mennonite Academy) to make the score 4-2. The Griffins put the game out of reach by scoring the next seven runs of the contest. Beck led the Highlander offense in game one with two hits and drove in all of the Highlanders three runs, while sophomore Adriana Shannon (Marlton, NJ / Cherokee) followed with a pair of hits and one run scored.
 
The Griffins got off to good start in game two, scoring the first run of the game in the first inning. However, the Highlanders had the resounding answer, plating the next five runs of the contest to hold a 5-1 lead four innings. Gwynedd Mercy did not go quietly, reclaiming the lead with five-straight runs of its own to take a 6-5 lead after five innings. The Highlanders got the lead back in the sixth, after Beck launched her first career solo-homer over the fence to tie the game, followed up by an RBI-single by senior Victoria Ruitto (Ellington, CT / The Cornerstone Christian School) to give Cairn a 7-6 lead. However, the Griffins utilized another big inning in the bottom half, scoring four runs to up their run count to 10 to finish off the game. Beck posted another big game in the second contest with two hits and three RBIs, while junior Emma Holmes (Newtown, PA / Council Rock North) followed with a two-hit game and a run scored.
 
The Highlanders will be back on the field on Thursday, April 7 when they return to Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play on the road at Saint Elizabeth University for a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.