Marleigh Monroe tossed a complete game in the opening game of their doubleheader, and Allison Kloft had an RBI double, but the St. Lawrence University softball team endured a 1-0 walk-off loss and a 6-1 defeat in the second game of the day, as they opened their season in Middlebury, Vt. against the Panthers.

The Saints' record moves to 0-2 with the early-season results, while their opponents from the Green Mountain State remain undefeated at 6-0.

"For our first two games of the season, I thought we played very well," said Saints head coach Tyler Pagaduan, who completed his first two games in the third-base box for the Scarlet and Brown. "Especially considering Middlebury's caliber. We did leave a lot of runners left on base. But the beauty of playing games this early in the season is that we have time to fix those things. Our pitching and defense performed very well, and we'll look to build off that as we move through our schedule."
 

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Game 1: St. Lawrence 0, Middlebury 1

The two teams traded extra base hits in the first inning, with Maeve Thompson launching a leadoff double in the opening frame, and Livy Schultz answered with a double of her own for Middlebury in the bottom half of the first, but neither were able to drive in their runners. It remained scoreless through an inning.

St. Lawrence cooked up a threat in the second inning again, loading the bases with one out – but the Panthers again showed resilience, getting the second out at the plate via a fielder's choice and Middlebury starter McKenna Lont manufactured a swinging strikeout to extinguish the St. Lawrence threat.

From there, the teams endured a stretch of offensive headwinds, where both Monroe and Lont dealt through each respective lineup. The game remained deadlocked at zeroes until the late stages, when the Saints threatened again.

Looking for a late spark in the seventh, the Saints got it from the bottom of the order. Abby Gallas launched a towering double over outfielders' heads and into the left-center gap, leading off the inning with a massive extra-base hit. However, the Panthers were able to get out of the inning via a fielder's choice and double play.

That set up a dramatic bottom of the seventh where the score remained 0-0. Lont took matters into her own hands with a one-out double. A bunt single moved her over to third, and an RBI sacrifice fly by Katelyn Mikros handed the Saints their first loss of 2026.

Monroe finished the game as the lone hurler for the Saints, scattering four hits over six and two-thirds innings in a valiant effort in the circle. She only allowed one run, walked one, and struck out four in her first appearance of the season.
 

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Game 2: St. Lawrence 1, Middlebury 6

The second game began in similar fashion to the first – with Thompson getting on base. This time, it came via a walk, then Caelen Jahnle also worked a base on balls to put two on and nobody out. Later in the first, Leah VerSchneider snuck a single into left field, but Jahnle had to hold at third base. The Panthers got a strikeout from pitcher Emily Dowd to end that threat.

Middlebury got the first runs of the game in their second time to the plate. In the bottom of the second, Uma Corcoran recorded a two-out double with runners on the corners to make it 2-0. Then Kristyn Carroll drove in Corcoran moments later to make it 3-0. The Panthers tacked on a fourth run in the third.

The score remained at 4-0 until the top of the fifth, when the Saints produced their first run of the season. Middlebury quickly downed two Saints batters, but Jahnle started the two-out rally by getting hit by a pitch. Kloft was next up, and she roped a double into left-center, bringing Jahnle around to score and made it 4-1. The Saints' 2025 team leader in both hits and RBIs was the first one on the board in 2026.

Middlebury added two more runs via another extra-base knock in the sixth, when Olivia Scholes posted a two-run double to make it 6-1. Next turn up for the Saints, Gallas singled in the leadoff spot to kick off the inning, but that's all St. Lawrence could muster in their last chance. They fell 6-1.

Izzy Melanson pitched her first of the year for SLU, allowing four runs on seven hits in four innings pitched, while not surrendering a walk. Hannah Reardon got the nod in relief, allowing two runs on four hits in two innings.
 

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Up Next:

That's all for the Saints up north until the other side of spring break – they next play in the Sunshine State, with their first contest of THE Spring Games scheduled for Sunday, March 22 against Luther College in Clermont, Fla.