ALBANY, N.Y. – Junior center fielder Chelsea Vena (Matawan, N.J./Saint John Vianney HS) broke a 3-3 tie with an RBI single in the eighth and both junior left fielder Kelsey Kennedy (Bedford, N.H./Bedford HS) and senior catcher Jill Raia (Montville, N.J./Morristown-Beard School) had run-scoring doubles later in the inning as Bentley rallied for a 7-3 eight-inning win over the College of Saint Rose in Northeast-10 Conference cross-division softball Saturday at Cathy Haker Field.

The four-run eighth was made possible by a two-out RBI single by freshman right fielder Stephanie McQuaid (Windham, N.H./Austin Prep HS) an inning earlier.

With the Falcons down 3-2 following a run in the bottom of the sixth by Saint Rose, Kennedy led off the seventh with a single through the left side. A sacrifice and ground out moved her to third and McQuaid evened the game with a single to right center.

After junior and winning pitcher Kelsey Smith (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant HS) struck out back-to-back hitters to strand two in the bottom of the seventh, Bentley began the eighth with sophomore designated player Jordan Ballantyne (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay HS) on second due to the international tiebreaker rule.

Following a pop-up and a ground out that moved Ballantyne to third, Vena brought her home with a single to center. Sophomore second baseman Catie Noons (North Dighton, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth HS) followed with a single, and both Vena and Noons scored on Kennedy's double to left. That was followed an a double by Raia with Kennedy scoring her second run of the day to make it a 7-3 game.

Smith pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to completed three innings of three-hit scoreless relief and secure her second win of the season.

Bentley's 13 hits included three by Kennedy and Vena, and two by Noons, as the team's 5-6-7 hitters were a combined 8 for 12. Kennedy and McQuaid each had two RBI, and Vena matched Kennedy's two-runs scored.

Everyone in the Saint Rose lineup had at least one hit with lead-off batter Carly Wood (Hamilton, N.J.) the only one with two.

Thr second game of the scheduled doubleheader was cancelled on Friday due to cold weather concerns.

Bentley, 3-8, will remain in New York to take on Le Moyne College in Syracuse in a doubleheader on Sunday (12 noon).