COLUMBUS, Ga. – The top of the lineup delivered in a big way as the Gannon University softball team claimed its first win on Friday to earn a split on the opening day of its 2023 season.

Gannon (1-1) scored seven runs over the final two innings and beat Shaw (N.C.) University 10-2 in six innings in GU's second game of the NFCA Division II Leadoff Classic at RG Jones Stadium. Earlier in the day in their season opener, the Golden Knights lost 8-0 to Hillsdale in five innings.

Against Shaw (0-6), Gannon trailed 2-1 through 2 ½ innings. However, coach Michelle Wiley's Knights closed the game with nine unanswered runs. The top five hitters in GU's batting order combined for nine hits, eight runs and eight RBIs.

Cleanup hitter Lea Coffman (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs, while No. 3 hitter Natalia Mallozzi (Woodbridge, Ontario/Father Bressani Catholic) drove in three runs and scored twice. No. 5 hitter Abbey Girman (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) had two doubles and two RBIs, while leadoff hitter Ashley Fox (Cowansville, Pa./Karns City) scored twice, and No. 2 hitter Jules Ryan (Collegeville, Pa./Spring Ford) added two hits, two runs, and an RBI.

Their efforts came in support of sophomore pitcher Maggie Lenda (East Aurora, N.Y./Iroquois) (1-0), who earned victory after striking out 13 and walking just one while allowing two runs on seven hits.

Gannon was trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the third inning when Mallozzi hit an RBI groundout that plated Fox. Coffman then singled through the left side to score Ryan and give Gannon a 3-2 lead.

The score stayed that way until the fifth inning when Gannon scored two runs on an error and a wild pitch.

The Golden Knights ended the game in the sixth inning with a five-run outburst. Mallozzi hit a two-run single in the inning, while Ryan, Coffman and Girman drove in runs.

Coffman and Girman hit back-to-back doubles in the sixth inning, marking the second time in the game they accomplished the feat. In the second inning, they produced Gannon's first run when Coffman doubled and Girman drove her home with a double.

Shaw dropped to 0-6.

In the opening game, Hillsdale's Joni Russell limited Gannon to one hit while striking out 11 in a five-inning, complete-game effort. The Chargers (2-3) struck for three runs in the first inning and had at least one run in each of the five innings.

Olivia Evans (Horseheads, New York/Horseheads Senior High) had an infield single in the third inning for Gannon's only hit.

Gannon will return to action on Saturday when the Knights meet Ohio Dominican at 10 a.m. and Georgia Southwestern State at 12:30 p.m.