Garden City, N.Y. - The long-awaited home opener for the defending NCAA Division II East Region champions resulted in a pair of wins for the No. 15 Adelphi University softball team on Thursday at Janet L. Ficke Field.

In front of their home crowd for the first time in 2023, the Panthers took down Queens College by the scores of 5-2 and 3-0.

Game 1: Adelphi 5, Queens 2
Another double-digit strikeout performance from Lindsey Hibbs highlighted the opening game of the doubleheader. She tallied ten strikeouts across a complete-game effort and reduced her earned-run average this season to 1.05.

While Hibbs retired the first seven to face her, Faith Camilleri and Courtney Wengryn each lined RBI singles that put Adelphi ahead 2-0 early.

Until Queens plated two unearned runs in the seventh, the Knights only put two runners in scoring position through the first six innings.

In the meantime, Alexa Sacripante further padded the Adelphi lead with a two-RBI double in the fourth, and Wengryn added another RBI single in the fifth.

Game 2: Adelphi 3, Queens 0
Claire Fon took the ball for her first home start of 2023, and dazzled to the tune of a seven-inning complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts.

After back-to-back first-inning singles led off the first inning for the 'Cats, Wengryn chipped in again, putting a ball in play to score Jordyn Pasqueralli for the game's first run.

A lead-off error the following inning gave the Panthers another runner in scoring position. Tierney Fitzgerald lifted a one-out sacrifice fly to right, making it a 2-0 game.

Adelphi got to the Queens defense one more time in the third. Another misplay by the Knights' outfield led to Pasqueralli coming around for her second run of the contest.

The Panthers will rest up and go right back to work at Ficke on Sunday (Mar. 18) at noon, in a doubleheader against non-conference opponent Mercy College.