BRIARCLIFF, N.Y. – Junior second baseman Laura McDonough (Braintree, Mass./Braintree HS)  had three hits, including two doubles, and four RBI as Bentley University topped Pace University, 8-3, in the second half of a Northeast-10 Conference softball doubleheader at Pace Field Sunday afternoon. In the opener, Pace prevailed 7-3 after breaking a 3-3 tie with a four-run sixth.

With game two even at 2-2, Bentley claimed the lead with two runs in the fifth. Freshman designated player Alyssa Wagner (Suffield, Conn./Suffield HS) had an infield single, freshman shortstop Shannon Connor (West Haven, Conn./West Haven HS) reached on an error, and McDonough drove both in with a single to center.

After Pace made it a one-run game with a single run in the bottom of the sixth, Bentley broke it open with a four-run seventh, capitalizing on two Setter errors and a passed ball. McDonough had her second RBI double of the game and junior Erica Thibodeau (Cohoes, N.Y./Shaker HS) had an RBI single.

Junior Carly Taitz (Blue Point, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point HS) pitched the first four innings, giving up four hits and two runs, and was credited with her third win of the season. Freshman Caitlin Betz (Randolph, N.J./Randolph HS) came in for the final three, earning the save after allowing two hits and one run.

Freshman shortstop Jeanne Drury (Flanders, N.J.) had a two-run homer for Pace (20-6, 8-4 NE-10), her third round-tripper of the afternoon. In the opener, she went deep twice and drove in three runs.

Drury, who had staked her team to a 2-0 lead with a two-run blast in the second, evened the game at 3-3 when she homered to lead off the fifth.

Sophomore Rachael McMahon (Corona, Calif.) broke the tie with an RBI single to center in the sixth, plating the first of four runs in the inning. Second baseman Leah Buchbinder (San Francisco, Calif.) made it a 5-3 game with an RBI single, and senior Sabrina Gonzalez (Oxnard, Calif.) followed with a two-run single.

Bentley's three runs were all scored in the third. Sophomore third baseman Kelly Sanborn (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton HS) led off with a home run, and the other two scored on a two-out error by a Pace outfielder.

Freshman Kayla Hill (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 5-0 on the season, pitched a complete game two-hitter for the Setters.

Bentley, 4-16 overall and 2-10 NE-10, will play two at Southern New Hampshire Tuesday, with the first game slated for 4 pm.