Highlights: Alfred St. / Saint Joseph's (CT)

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Freshman Kasey Ayer (Niantic, Conn.) drove in three runs for the Nichols College softball team, which defeated Alfred State 6-3 and fell to Saint Joseph's (CT) 7-6 Tuesday afternoon at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic at the Lee County Sports Complex.

Sophomores Meghan Sears (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Jade Palladino (Lynnfield, Mass.) each went 1-for-3 with an RBI against the Pioneers (0-8). Nichols fell behind 3-0 in the second before rallying for one in both the fourth and fifth innings, and four in the sixth.

Sears' RBI groundout in the fourth plated Palladino, and Ayer's RBI single the following inning brought in freshman Kendall Meehan (Danvers, Mass.). In the sixth, Palladino scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at three, and Ayer's two-run single up the middle put Nichols ahead 5-3. Meehan capped the scoring when she scored on a wild pitch.

Junior Haley Fountain (Warren, Mass.) surrendered seven hits and three earned runs over seven to earn her second win of the season. She did not walk a batter and fanned four.

Nichols trailed the Blue Jays 5-1 after three innings but struck for three in the fourth and two in the seventh to tie the game at six. DiReda drove in her first collegiate run with a single to right in the second, and a pair of RBI triples from Palladino and Sears in the fourth brought the Bison to within two at 6-4.

DiReda crossed the dish in the seventh when Ayer reached on a fielding error by the pitcher, and then freshman Courtney Manarky (Amston, Conn.) scored the tying run on a throwing error. An unearned run by Saint Joseph's (3-5) in their half of the frame ended the contest.

Nichols (3-5) concludes play at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic Wednesday with games against Knox (9 a.m.) and Franklin & Marshall (11 a.m.) at the Cape Coral Sports Complex.