ERIE, Pa. - Behind a season-best 13 strikeouts from Megan Dragon (Ashtabula, Ohio / Edgewood) and run production from Samantha Scott (New Baltimore, Mich. / Anchor Bay), the Gannon softball team earned a non-conference doubleheader split with Mansfield Tuesday afternoon. Gannon won the opener 3-0 before falling 5-2 in the nightcap. 

Although the match-up didn't count in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) standings, Tuesday's meeting with Mansfield could play a factor in the regional rankings. Gannon entered the contest ranked fourth in the latest NCAA Division II Atlantic Region, while Mansfield sat ninth. 

Dragon finished just two strikeouts shy of her career mark as the junior sat down 12 Mansfield batters en route to a four-hit shutout in the opener. Dragon was dominant the first trip through the order, recording eight of the first nine outs thanks to K's. Of the four hits allowed, only one left the infield. Two were hit to shortshop while the other was a bunt. 

Picking up where she left off last week, Scott continued to drive in runs for the Lady Knights. Following a two-homer game against Mercyhurst, Scott drove in all three of Gannon's runs Tuesday. The junior gave Gannon an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first inning. The hit scored Jess Rectenwald (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Hills), who earlier singled to left field. 

Both pitchers kept the scoring opportunities limited until Gannon's half of the fifth. Caitlyn Colucci (Lancaster, N.Y. / Sacred Heart) and Ashley Petrone (Uniontown, Pa. / Albert Gallatin) each singled before Scott doubled home the pair with a shot off the left-field fence. Both of Scott's RBI hits Tuesday came with two outs. 

Two Mansfield batters reached base in the seventh, but Dragon forced a fly out to Rectenwald in left field before taking care of the last batter herself with the strikeout.

In the nightcap, Mansfield erased Gannon's 1-0 lead with a four-run third inning, eventually winning by the 5-2 final. Petrone accounted for Gannon's score in the first, after the Mansfield first basemen unsuccessfully attempted to throw out the speedy Katie Killian (Akron, Ohio / St. Vincent-St. Mary) at the plate. 

The lead was short lived for the Lady Knights as the Mountaineers put together a four-run third inning to take the lead. Kate Pratt and Chara Dixon each drove in a pair of runs with extra-base hits to account for the scoring.

Gannon got one run in the back in the fourth with a double from Kelly Trace (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Hartley). The extra-base hit scored Petrone from third, who led off the inning with a single.

Mansfield added an insurance run in the top of the seventh to seal up the win for the Mountaineers. Caitlin Klobosits picked up her fifth win of the season after allowing two runs on five hits. She struck out three and issued one walk.

Rectenwald took the loss after tossing three innings. Erica Bartholow (Connellsville, Pa. / Connellsville Area) provided four innings of relief work in which she allowed just two hits and struck out four. For the day, the Gannon pitching staff struck out 21 batters. 

Gannon moved to 27-14 overall following the split. Mansfield now stands at 20-13. Gannon will continue the week-long homestand on Thursday, April 19 when the Lady Knights will take on Slippery Rock in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division action. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.