The University of Mary Washington softball team opened the 2021 season with a doubleheader split with Shenandoah University on Saturday at the Battleground. The Eagles won the opener, 4-3, before falling, 6-0, in game two.

In the first game, the Eagles jumped ahead with a run in the second, as Emma Schieda led off with a single, movd to second on a walk, and scored on an Amina Shakir single. The Eagles would add on three more in the third, as Rachel Porchie singled and scored on a double by Grace Drury. Bridget Laychak provided a two-run double to push the lead to 4-0. The Hornets scored three times in the sixth to draw to within one, but the Eagles held on for the final outs and the win. 

Drury doubled and walked twice, while Laychack provided her two-run double. Shieda scored twice. Freshman Caitlyn Burch gained the win, allowing seven hits and three runs in seven innings, with no walks and three strikeouts.

In the nightcap, the Hornets scored once in the second, four times in the fourth, and one in the fifth en route to a 6-0 win. Maggie Mrowka, Rachel Porchie, and Kimmy Thibodeau each had a pair of hits for the Eagles.

Mary Washington will return to action on Tuesday, when they host North Carolina Wesleyan College at 2:30 p.m.