Highlights: Knox / Franklin & Marshall

CAPE CORAL, Mass. – Junior Haley Fountain (Warren, Mass.) belted a three-run home run as the Nichols College softball team defeated Knox College 8-5 before suffering an 8-2 defeat to Franklin & Marshall Wednesday morning at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic at the Cape Coral Sports Complex.

Freshman Kasey Ayer (Niantic, Conn.) combined to go 5-for-7 with three runs scored and an RBI for the Bison, who concluded their trip south 4-6. Sophomore Christina Drake (Lebanon, N.H.) recorded a pair of hits and scored a run against the Prairie Fire.

Nichols built a 4-0 lead against Knox behind Fountain's round-tripper to left and an RBI single off the bat of Ayer. Knox (0-4) struck for five in its half of the third to grab a 5-4 lead, but freshman Taylor Fritze (Spencer, Mass.) scored an unearned run in the fourth to tie the game at five.

Meehan put Nichols in front for good with a sac fly to deep second in the fifth, and sophomore Samantha DiReda (Shrewsbury, Mass.) drove in a run in the sixth to extend the lead to 7-5. Ayer scored on a wild pitch in the seventh to add an insurance run.

Fountain evened her record at 3-3 by tossing seven innings of five-hit ball, striking out seven.

The Diplomats (7-1) took one-run leads in the first and fifth innings, only to see the Bison rally to tie the game both times. Freshman Kendall Meehan (Danvers, Mass.) scored on a fielding error in the first before sophomore Jade Palladino (Lynnfield, Mass.) drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth to knot the score. F&M went on to score sixth in the top of the seventh to secure the win.

Meehan was tagged for 10 hits and eight runs (five earned) in seven innings to fall to 1-2 on the season. She walked three and struck out four.

Nichols is scheduled to play a pair at Clark (MA) on Tuesday, March 24.