CLERMONT, Fla. -- Fredonia State's bid to win its first game of the season ended in a heartbreaking 6-5 loss Tuesday to Hope College at the Legends Way complex. Earlier in the morning, the Blue Devils fell to No. 21 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 4-0. The two losses dropped the Blue Devils to 0-6.

"There was improvement in all three areas," Head Coach Tony Ciccarello said after the doubleheader. "We started making plays that we weren't making earlier in the week,and we started getting hits that we weren't getting earlier in the week. These are things we can build on later in the week." 

The Blue Devils, idle Wednesday, return to action Thursday when they faced Amherst College at 2 p.m., and Simpson College after the completion of the first game. Both games will be played at Hancock Park.

The Blue Devils led 4-0 early Hope rallied for four runs in the last of the sixth. The key blow was a two-run homer off losing pitcher Sabrina Edwards-Smith. Fredonia State starting pitcher Vanessa Galbraith left after four innings with a 5-2 lead.

It was the best offensive showing so far for the Blue Devils, who collected seven hits -- two each by Maddy Devore and Madison Lowe. Each of them also had one RBI.

In the day's first game, the Blue Devils and nationally ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater were locked in a 1-0 battle until the top of the seventh. Fredonia State starting pitcher Kendall Phillips had her third strong showing of the spring -- the first two in relief -- but her team's inability to deliver a key hit, especially early, led to the defeat. The Blue Devils left 10 runners stranded, including the bases loaded twice.

"Kendall has been a great addition to the pitching staff,"  Ciccarello said of the SUNY Brockport transfer. "She fits the culture and the other pitchers took her in and made her feel at home."