CLERMONT, Fla. – The Eastern Connecticut State University fastpitch softball team went from feast to famine at the National Training Center Tuesday. But in both cases, it came up empty in its bid to climb over the .500 mark.

Buena Vista U. 17, Eastern Conn. 14

In the loss to Buena Vista University, the top four hitters in the Eastern (3-4) lineup combined for ten hits but Buena Vista  (7-4)  sent 12 batters to the plate in the top of the seventh inning, scoring eight runs on seven hits, a walk, wild pitch and error.

The Warriors, who commited seven errors in the game, had taken a 14-9 lead into the seventh after scoring six times in the bottom of the sixth on four hits, two walks, a sacrifice bunt and an error. The big blow of the inning was a bases-clearing triple by senior first baseman Kelly Paterson (Southington).

Senior third baseman Arielle Cooper (Mystic),  junior second baseman Megan Godwin (Manchester) and junior centerfielder Mattie Brett (Waterford) each had three of Eastern's 16 hits, with Paterson driving in five runs with her sixth-inning double and a two-run triple in a seven-run fourth. Cooper plated three runs with a two-run single in the fourth and RBI double in the six-run sixth. Brett's third hit was the 100^th of her three-year collegiate career (she had 55 hits as a freshman at Endicott College in 2011).

Buena Vista freshman starter Jenna Falline, who had one-hit No. 14 Carthage College a day earlier, was driven from the mound in the fifth. She was charged with eight (earned) runs on 11 hits. The win went to junior Britney Kubik, who allowed five earned runs on five hits in 2 1/3 innings, but benefited from her team's eight-run final inning.

Carthage College 8, Eastern Conn. 0 (6)

Senior Krystina Leazer struck out eight and walked one in a complete-game five-hitter as No. 14 Carthage (9-3) handed Eastern (3-5) its second straight loss in a game stopped with one out in the Carthage sixth inning due to the eight-run rule. The shutout was the second of the day for the Lady Reds.

Leazer did not allow an extra-base hit and gave up only two hits in an inning once, when freshman DH Alyssa White (Colchester) stroked a leadoff single in the fourth and advanced to third on a one-out single by junior centerfielder Mattie Brett (Waterford). Brett had two of Eastern's hits.

The 3-through-5 hitters in the Carthage lineup combined for seven hits, with No. 3 hitter Vicki Pyan going 3-for-4 (double, triple) with four runs scored and an RBI.

Eastern closes out its Florida trip Wednesday against the University of Chicago (1 p.m.) and Carleton College (3 p.m.).