CLERMONT, Fla.- The Caldwell University softball team split a pair of games to open up their 2018 season. The Cougars fell to Bentley University and defeated NYIT 12-3 on their first day at the National Training Center in Florida.
 
In the opening game against Bentley, Caldwell took the early lead as freshman Maya Rodriguez (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) ripped a run scoring double in the second inning for her first collegiate RBI and extra base hit. The Falcons evened the score in fourth and the game remained tied through seven innings.
 
In the eighth, Bentley took the lead in the top of the inning. The Cougars rallied back as freshman Kaileen Cain (Hauppauge, N.Y.) drove in a run with a double. Rodriguez added an RBI single as part of a 3-for-3 opening game but Caldwell came up short in their opener.
 
Sophomore Jessie Johnston (Livermore, Calif.) tossed a complete game, allowing six hits and striking out two.
 
Caldwell earned their first win of the young season in their second game of the game against NYIT. The Cougars plated three in the opening inning as the first three batters reached base. Senior Kiahna Silva (Etiwanda, Calif.) singled to lead off the game. Sophomore Melissa Rini (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) doubled home Silva for the early lead. Senior Marisa Monasseri (Monroe, N.J.) added an RBI single, while Rodriguez drove in a run later in the frame for a 3-0 lead.
 
The Cougars added a run in the third as Cain led off with a walk, while Rodriguez singled. Freshman Paige Sandoval (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) singled in Cain to extend the lead to 4-0. The Bears closed the gap in the fourth with three runs.
 
Caldwell pulled away with eight runs over the final three innings. Silva blasted a three-run homerun in the fifth inning, while the Cougars added a run in the sixth on an error. Junior Carly Testa (Sicklerville, N.J.) drove in two runs with a single in the seventh, while Sandoval added a run scoring single in the inning.
 
Sophomore Sara Bearden (Ewing, N.J.) tossed a complete game, allowing three runs on five hits and struck out eight in the win.
 
The Cougars are back in action on Saturday, March 10 as they face regional powers Le Moyne College and Southern New Hampshire University at the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida.