HARRISONBURG, Va. – Binghamton (6-7) earned a split in the final day of the James Madison Softball Invitational on Sunday morning at Veterans Memorial Park. The Bearcats lost 7-3 to St. Josephs (14-10) in the opener before rebounding to beat Morgan State (6-14) 13-5 in the finale. With the split, Binghamton finishes the JMU Invitational with a 2-2 record.

Junior outfielder Hannah Lyons and freshman Chloe Morgan each went 3-for-6 (.500) for the two games. Lyons belted a two-run home run while Morgan scored four times. Freshman shortstop Marissa Braito, meanwhile, hit .333 and drove in a team-best three runs.

Against Morgan State, the Bearcats fell behind 1-0 through one inning but reeled off five runs in the top of the second inning. Braito delivered the big blow with a three-run triple. She then scored the final run of the frame on a RBI single by sophomore outfielder Lauren Martinez.

After adding a run in the top of the third inning, Binghamton blew the game open with eight more runs in the top of the fourth inning to go up 12-1. Sophomore pinch hitter Madison Germano had the key hit with a two-run single that started the scoring in that frame.

From there, the Bearcats were able to maintain enough of a cushion to finish the game in five innings.

Sophomore pitcher Chelsea Howard improved to 2-0 with the victory while Stephanie Rundlette fell to 4-7 with the loss.

Also finishing the game against the Bears with two RBI were Martinez and junior outfielder Stephanie Ragusa..

The 13 runs scored by Binghamton against Morgan State represents its highest total since it beat St. Peter's 28-4 back on March 25, 2018.

Against St. Joseph's in the opener, the Bearcats committed three miscues in the first three innings, which led to five runs. By the time Binghamton came to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, it was in a 6-0 hole.

Held to just two hits over the first five innings, the Bearcats used the long ball in the bottom of the sixth inning to get back in the game. Lyons and sophomore shortstop Makayla Alvarez drilled back-to-back home runs, trimming the deficit to 6-3. Lyons' homer came after Morgan led off the frame with a single. The home run for Lyons was her first of the season while Alvarez now has a team-best three home runs.

In the top of the seventh inning, however, St. Joseph's got an insurance run when Sarah Ostaszekwsi clubbed a one-out home run.

Ashley Ventura improved to 6-8 with the victory. Despite not allowing an earned run, junior pitcher Rayn Gibson was tagged with the loss, dropping her record to 3-3. In her last three starts, however, Gibson has not surrendered an earned run and is 2-1 during that stretch.

Lyons and Alvarez are first two Binghamton players to hit back-to-back home runs since Kate Richard and Alvarez did the same against Albany on May 2, 2018.

Braito finished the James Madison Invitational with a team-best .455 batting average. She went 5-for-11 in the process and hit safely in all four games. Morgan went 4-for-10 (.400) while Lyons finished 4-for-11 (.364).

As a team, Binghamton hit .308 during the James Madison Invitational.

Binghamton continues its spring break trip with a doubleheader at Virginia Tech on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

NOTES: For the season, Lyons is now batting a team-best .324 while Gibson's ERA drops to a career-best 2.46.