WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Assumption University softball team dropped two games at the Diamondplex Softball Complex on Saturday. The Greyhounds first fell to Tiffin, 8-6, before ending the day with a 14-4 setback against Findlay in five innings.

Game One: Tiffin 8, Assumption 6

The Greyhounds' first game of the day featured a back-and-forth battle with Tiffin which saw two ties and two lead changes.

Tiffin (2-4) jumped on the board in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly by Aubrie Harper which plated Taylor Whalen, who began the game with a single to third, and added two more runs in the top of the fourth. Harper led off the middle frame with a ground-rule double to center and then came home on an infield error which doubled the Dragon lead, and Whalen drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-0.

Assumption, however, stormed back and took its first lead by scoring once in the bottom of the fourth and three more times in the fifth. Sophomore Abigail Larson (Marlborough, Mass.) drove in the team's first run of the season on a single to right center that sent home classmate Summer Sheerin (Bridgewater, Mass.), who reached on a fielder's choice.

The Greyhounds then plated three more in the fifth with all of the runs coming with two outs. Sophomore Corin Mahan (Abington, Mass.) started the team's hottest offensive stretch by singling up with middle with runners on the corners. Then with a new pitcher in the circle, freshman Mackenzie Bruggeman (Trumbull, Conn.) and Sheerin each reached on infield errors to score sophomore Lauren Geremia (North Providence, R.I.) for the tying run and Moran for the go-ahead marker. The Dragons, however, got out of the inning by gunning down Sheerin who attempted to take second.

After Tiffin regained the lead with two runs in the top of the sixth, Assumption threatened to take it back by loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom half of the frame. But after senior captain Allison Ainley (Rehoboth, Mass.) drew a walk, sophomore Alexis Charbonneau (Hudson, N.H.) grounded into a 5-2-3 double play to completely swing the momentum back to the Dragons. The next Greyhound hitter struck out to end the inning, and the visiting team on the scoreboard tacked on two more in the top of the seventh.

Assumption didn't go down without a fight and sliced the deficit in half thanks to getting RBI singles from Sheerin and Mollie Verrault (Scarborough, Maine). Relief pitcher Claire Feldkamp, however, forced the next Greyhound batter to ground into a fielder's choice to end the game.

Feldkamp picked up the victory for Tiffin after allowing four hits and two runs, which were both earned, in 2.1 innings of relief when the game was decided. Senior Mia Patriacca (Newton, Mass.), who threw three relief innings, was charged with the loss. She yielded one hit and four runs, including two that were earned.

Game Two: Findlay 14, Assumption 4 (5 innings)

In the Greyhounds' second game of the day, Findlay (3-2) jumped out to a 5-0 lead by scoring three runs in the first and two in the second.

Assumption tried to battle back and got a two-run homer off the bat of Mahan in the top of the third, but the Oilers quickly responded with four more runs in the bottom half of the third to pull away. A grand slam home run by Megan Demler to left field in the bottom of the fifth then ended the game due to the eight-run rule.

Demler also went the distance in the circle to earn the win by striking out nine, issuing four walks, and yielding hits and four runs. Sophomore Catherine Higgins (Medway, Mass.) took the tough loss after giving up nine runs which were all unearned in three innings of work.

Assumption (0-3) will play two more games tomorrow against nationally-ranked Georgian Court at 10 a.m. and perennial contender Gannon at 2:30 p.m.