Vikings Fall to Dolphins, 2-1

MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina – Salem State softball looked to stay in the win column tonight as they matched up against the Dolphins of Mount St. Vincent, but after seven innings the Dolphins were able to steal the 2-1 victory over the Vikings.

By notching hits tonight, Dawn Eisnor (Medford, Mass.), Payton Jeffers (Holly Ridge, N.C.), and Sydney Rodriguez (Brighton, Colo.) have all recorded a hit in each of the opening four games for the Vikings, while Emily Carter (Warwick, R.I.) had a season-high seven strikeouts in tonight's effort.

How it Happened:

• Janae Santos (Cambridge, Mass.) managed to record the game's first hit in the top of the third, but the Dolphins defense turned two to end the inning and keep the Vikings at bay. In the bottom half of the same inning, the Dolphins' bats got hot as they amounted three hits to bring in two runs, taking the 2-0 lead to enter the fourth.
• With Emily Carter (Warwick, R.I.) striking out two of the four batters she faced, the Vikings were able to keep the Dolphins at bay in the fourth.
• Rebecca Walker (Lynn, Mass.) rallied the Vikings to begin the sixth inning with a single, then advanced to third base on back-to-back pop flies before she was brought home by a Rodriguez (Brighton, Colo,) single, cutting the Dolphins' lead in half (2-1).
• Carter struck out the first two batters she faced before the next two betters were able to string together singles and would find themselves in scoring position before Allison Frost (Auburn, Mass.) secured a pop fly to end the inning and strand the two runners on base.
• Jeffers singled to start the seventh inning but that would be the only hit the Vikings would get before the Dolphins handled the next three batters to solidify the 2-1 victory over Salem.