Johnson, VT - Northern Vermont University-Lyndon took both games of Monday's North Atlantic Conference doubleheader from Northern Vermont University-Johnson, winning the opener 9-7 in 8 innings before cruising to an 11-3 victory in the nightcap.  The games were the conference openers for both teams and the season openers for the Badgers.  The Hornets improve to 2-4 overall on the season.

Game 1 - NVU-Lyndon 9, NVU-Johnson 7 - 8 innings

Johnson got on the board in the bottom of the first inning.  Savannah Dufrense drew a one out walk off of Hornet starter Victoria Valentine (East Burke, VT).  Back to back base hits from Nicole Mooney and Julianna Reed loaded the bases.  After Valentine stuck out Annika Dyhrberg, Mia Blackwell's base hit back up the middle scored two to put the Badgers in front.

The Hornets struck back in the top of the second inning.  Danielle Robinson (Strafford, VT) got things started by drawing a one-out walk off of Mooney.  She moved to third following a pair of passed balls, then scored when Ashley Hart (Hampton, NH) reached on an error.

Lyndon took the lead with three runs in the top of the third inning.  Valentine singled to center with one out, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error.  She came in to tie the score on Gracie Ducker's (Lyndonville, VT) infield single.  After Robinson singled, Hart's single to right scored Ducker and advanced Robinson to third.  Robinson then came home on a passed ball to make the score 4-2, Lyndon.

Johnson promptly regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning.  Dufresne and Mooney led off the inning with back to back singles.  Both runners moved up on a passed ball, then Jordan Reed's triple drove in both runners.  Dyhrberg singled home Reed to put Johnson in front, 5-4.

Both pitchers then settled in over the next couple of innings.  Mooney retired the Hornets in order in the fourth and fifth innings, while Valentine kept the Badgers in check in the bottom half of each frame, yielding only a two-out walk in the fifth.

The Hornets tied things in the top of the sixth inning.  Robinson beagt out an infield hit leading off, then stole second.  She moved to third on Hart's base hit back up the middle, then scored when Faith Poirier (Portsmouth, NH) grounded into a fielder's choice.

After Valentine set the Badgers down in order in the bottom half of the sixth inning, the Hornets took the lead in the top of the seventh.  With one out, Cassie Black (Tolland, CT) beat out an infield hit and advanced to second on a passed ball.  Ducker's base hit to center then drove in Black with the go ahead run.  Ducker moved to second on a passed ball, then scored on Robinson's base hit, making the score 7-5, Lyndon.

After Dufresne grounded out to open the bottom half of the seventh, Mooney reached on an infield hit.  Valentine then got Reed to ground out, but Dyhrberg then delivered a two-run home run to center field to tie the game at 7-7 and send the game into extra innings.

In the top of the eight inning Poirier started at second base, following the NCAA softball tiebreaker format.  Pinch hitter Dyllynn Burton (Plainfield, VT) beat out a hit, then Valentine's two-out, two-run double gave the Hornets a 9-7 advantage.  Valentine Kept the Badgers off the scoreboard in the bottom half of the inning to secure the win for Lyndon.

Valentine went the distance to pick up the win for the Hornets, striking out nine in the process.  Mooney also went all eight innings in taking the loss for the Badgers.

Robinson had a big game at the plate for Lyndon, delivering three hits and scoring three runs.  Ducker had two hits, two runs scored, and two runs batted in, while Hart also had a pair of hits.  Mooney led the Johnson attack with three hits and three runs scored.  Dyhrberg added a pair of hits, including the game tying home run, and drove in three.

Game 2 - NVU-Lyndon 11, NVU-Johnson 3

The Hornets wasted no time getting on the board in the nightcap.  Jaydan Allinson (Miami, AZ) led off with a base hit, then took advantage of three passed balls to come around and score to give Lyndon the lead.  Black then singled, moved to second on a passed ball, then to third on a fielder's choice, and came in to score on another passed ball.

Laura Dattilio singled to open the Johnson half of the first.  She moved to third on a ground out, then came in to score on Mooney's base hit.  After Reed drew a walk, Dyhrberg delivered an RBI single to score Mooney and tie the game.  Valentine was able to get out of the inning without further damage by striking out Kayla Irick and Jade Jamieson to end the Badger threat.

Johnson took advantage of back to back Hornet errors and a passed ball to take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the second inning.  After Dufresne and Mooney both reached, Dufresne came in to score on the passed ball.

The Hornets regained the lead with a three run, five hit outburst in the top of the third inning.  Valentine led off with a double to left, then scored on Black's base hit to tie things.  Ducker then doubled, advancing Black to third.  After Hart walked to load the bases, Marin Fowler (Plainfield, VT) delivered a two-run base hit to put Lyndon in front, 5-3.  Burton then singled to load the based, but Allinson lined out to end the inning.

After Valentine set the Badgers down in order in the bottom of the third inning, the Hornets broke the game open in the top of the fourth.  Black's one-out double got things started.  She moved to third on a passed ball and scored when Ducker reached on an error.  Robinson followed by drawing a walk, and both runners then moved up.  Hart singled to score Ducker and put runners at the corners.  With Hart attempting to steal, Robinson came in to score on a throwing error.  A walk to Poirier and a base hit from Fowler loaded the bases.  Burton's sacrifice fly scored Hart.  After Poirier and Fowler advanced a base on a wild pitch, Allinson's single scored Poirier to give the Hornets an 11-3 advantage.

Valentine kept the Badgers off the scoreboard in the final two innings to close out the win for the Hornets.  She allowed only one earned run while striking out five.  Mooney again took the loss for the Badgers.

Black was the hitting star for Lyndon with three hits, three runs scored and a run batted in.  Fowler had a pair of hits and a pair of RBIs while Allinson also delivered a pair of hits.  Dattilio had tow hits for Johnson.

The Hornets will return to action this weekend when they travel to Husson University for a four game set.  Doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday will both begin at 1:00 pm.