LISLE, Ill. – After a weekend of postponements, the Edgewood College softball team finally had the chance to open their conference schedule on Monday afternoon. The Eagles did not exactly get the start they were looking for as their bats fell silent and Edgewood College dropped a pair to Benedictine University 8-0 and 13-2.

Rachel DeJongh ripped a double to lead off the game, but Edgewood College (8-7, 0-2 NACC) left her stranded on second. Benedictine had no trouble in the bottom half of the inning as they opened the frame with four straight hits. With runners at second and third and nobody out, the Eagles looked like they were in for a high scoring inning, but DeJongh got Shannon Fritsche to hit into a double play and the next batter to fly out to end the threat. Benedictine (10-5, 4-0 NACC) scored one more in the second and exploded for five in the third to take an 8-0 advantage while Edgewood College recorded a hit in every inning, but could not cut into the deficit. All eight runs were earned for Benedictine in the 8-0 loss.

Game two started with a strong defensive first for Edgewood College but the Eagles then struggled in the second, committing four errors. Benedictine rallied for seven runs on just four hits thanks to the rough defensive play by Edgewood College. The Eagles struggled at the dish and were held without a hit until the fourth inning when Alyssa Schulting ripped a two-out single to right. Benedictine again scored in bunches and rattled off six more runs on seven hits in the bottom half of the inning to take a 13-0 lead. Not wanting to go home without a run, the Eagles needed to come through in the fifth. Lindsey Elsing reached on an error and after a strikeout, Tiffani Pierce singled. Taylor McLean hit a grounder to the right side to advance the runners and DeJongh singled in the two to tally Edgewood College's first runs of the day. Despite the two runs, the Eagles fell 13-2 as Benedictine completed the conference sweep.

DeJongh went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in on the day while Kylie Clark was 2-for-2 in game. The Eagles hit just .229 compared to Benedictine's .490.

Edgewood College will look to bounce back this weekend as they host Concordia Wisconsin on Saturday, April 5. The Eagles doubleheader against the Falcons will be at 12:00 pm from Ceniti Park in Verona.