Pictured Above: Junior Kaila Smith (Photo by Nick Monaghan)

Queens, NY – The Wagner College softball team earned a 9-6 victory over Holy Cross at the St. John's Invitational on Saturday afternoon as part of a doubleheader split.
 
The Seahawks dropped the second game of the afternoon by a score of 9-3 to Hofstra and will take on the Pride once again tomorrow to close out the tournament at 2 pm.
 
Wagner was once again led by reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Week Natalie Del Ponte, who amassed five RBIs and three hits on the afternoon, while junior Kaila Smith collected three RBIs across the two games.
 
With today's split, the Green and White moves to 4-12 on the season.
 
Game 1 Recap: Wagner 9-6 Holy Cross
 
In a close game, senior Amelia Van Orman shut the door with the bases loaded and the winning run at the plate for the Crusaders in the bottom of the seventh. Van Orman struck out Holy Cross' Alexandra Held to end the game and give the Sehawks the victory.
 
After Wagner had fallen behind 1-0 in the first, the Seahawks responded with four runs in the third on two-run doubles by Smith and Del Ponte.
 
After the Crusaders answered with three in the fourth, the Green and White opened up a big lead thanks to a five-run fifth inning. Del Ponte opened the scoring with an RBI single to give the Seahawks the lead.
 
Wagner added two runs on errors as well as one more run on an RBI single by junior Zoe Bender. Senior Karen Prihoda sparked the final run of the game for Wagner, as her stolen base allowed Bender to race home from third to give the Seahawks a 9-4 lead.
 
The Crusaders scored two in the sixth and loaded the bases in the seventh, but Van Orman and the Seahawks hung on for the win.
 
Senior Ciera Luna earned her first win of the season after tossing two innings in relief of freshman Eve Harvey.
 
Holy Cross held an 11-10 advantage in hits, as Del Ponte and Bender both recorded two hits.
 
Game 2 Recap: Hofstra 9-3 Wagner
 
The Seahawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a two-run single by Del Ponte that scored Prihoda and senior Lauren Serrato.
 
Wagner's third run of the game came in the fifth on an RBI single by Smith, which scored Serrato and tied the game at 3-3.
 
The Pride put the game away with six runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning, as Harvey was charged with the loss.
 
Prihoda was the lone Seahawk with two hits, while also scoring one run and adding a walk.
 
Overall, Hofstra held a 10-6 advantage in hits and moves to 9-11 on the year.