The Alfred State softball team battled tough on Monday as they held leads early in both of their contests. The Pioneers fell 11-5 to Lesley (MA) and 11-3 to Western Connecticut.

Morgan Franklin (Wellsville) stole home in the 1st to open up the scoring vs. Lesley. In the 2nd, Marissa Varela (Egg Harbor Twp, NJ) had a RBI single and Arianna Traugott (Elmira) followed with a 2-RBI single to right to make it 4-0. Lesley got on the board with three in the 3rd but Franklin made it 5-3 when she hit a two-out triple to center. The Lynx took the lead for the first time with three in the 4th and were able to add two in the 5th and three in the 7th to add insurance.

Franklin finished 2 for 3 with a RBI while Varela was 2 for 4 with a RBI. Brittany Fisher (Indianapolis, IN) reach base in all four at bats (three walks & one hit by pitch).

Varela gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning with a sac fly vs. Western Connecticut in the nightcap. The Colonials scored two in the 1st to grab the lead but Jordan Leonard (Lancaster) gave back the Pioneers the lead in the 3rd when she laced a double down the right field line. WCSU took back the lead for good in the 4th with five runs and added three more in the 5th and one more in the 6th.

Leonard finished 1 for 3 with 2 RBI while Fisher reached base two more times with a pair of walks.

After a day off on Tuesday, the Pioneer return at the Century Link Complex on Wednesday to take on New Jersey City (9 a.m.) and Rockford (11 a.m.).