VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--The Hood College softball team (1-5) went 1-3 in its four-game stint at the Virginia Wesleyan University Beach Blast Friday and Saturday.

Hood defeated Wilkes, 6-5, for its first win of the spring. The Blazers lost their matchups against the the host Marlins, 13-4 in five innings, 3-0 to Old Westbury and 9-1 to Franklin & Marshall.

The Blazers opened the two-day tournament against Virginia Wesleyan. The Marlins got off to a fast start, plating six runs in the bottom of the first. Paige Pritchett and Brenae Pettit both laced a two-run singles in the frame.

After a scoreless second, the Blazers got on the board in the top of the third when centerfielder Amy Hagerdon drove in Emalie Stroup with a two-out base hit. But the Marlins responded in their half of the inning with three more runs, courtesy of a three-run homer by Tori Higginbotham.

Hood's Brianna Dyckman smacked a solo homerun of her own, her first in a Blazer uniform, to lead off the top of the fourth. After relief pitcher Chelsea Henline walked bridgette Ringley and Emily Tempestilli, pinch-hitter Katie Jenkins drove in Hood's second run of the inning with a single. Later in the inning, Tempestilli came around to score on a fielder's choice to make it 9-4 VWC.

The Marlins would capitalize on three Blazer fielding errors in the next two innings, leading to four more runs.

Ringley suffered the loss, working the first three innings and allowing nine earned runs on eight hits with two walks and a strikeout.

Next up for the Blazers was Old Westbury, which also fell to Virginia Wesleyan, 4-1, earlier that day. The Panthers registered three runs in the bottom of the third, which proved to be the decisive inning as the Blazers were unable to plate a run against hurler Alyssa Clancy.

Casey Dunn, Kelly Gafner, Hagerdon, Kandie Glenn, Ashley Brown and Stroup all singled for the Blazers. Despite striking out six Panther hitters, Ringley once again took the loss after four innings of work in the circle. Jennifer Rutherford tossed two innings of shutout ball, allowing just three base hits.

Hood put an end to its four-game losing skid against Wilkes on Saturday. The Blazer bats came alive as Hood rapped out 13 hits, including a 3-for-4 effort by Dunn from the leadoff spot.

After the Colonels struck first in the top of the third on an RBI-groundout by Jordan Borge, Hood claimed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Brittany Sabol singled in Gafner and Jackie Wenzel scored after Stroup reached on an error by the Colonel third baseman.

Wilkes tied things up in the top of the fifth on a single by Alysha Bixler. But the Blazers broke the game open with a four-run fifth thanks to six base hits. Sabol drove in two more runs with her basehit while Gafner and Hagerdon also picked up RBIs in the inning.

The Colonels got two of those runs back in the top of the sixth on run-scoring singles by Cori Saltzer and Lindsay Behrenshausen. The Blazers threatened for more in their half of the sixth after Dunn and Glenn both reached on singles, but Jessalyn Paveletz retired Dyckman on a ground out and Gafner on strikes to end the rally.

Down by two heading into the top of the seventh, Wilkes mounted a comeback. Abbey Agresti singled to lead off the inning and Bixler walked. Both base runners moved up a station after a double steal and Borge singled in Agresti with a ground out to second to make it 6-5. But relief pitcher Rutherford, who had spelled Ringley in the first inning, was credited with her first pitching victory after getting Jackie Follweiler to pop up to Gafner at first and Katie Brown to ground out to Glenn at short to lock up the victory.

In Rutherford's 6.1 innings of action, she struck out four batters, walked three and allowed eight base hits.

Hood squared off against Franklin & Marshall in the final tilt of the weekend. The Diplomats put up four-spots in both the first and sixth innings. Hood's lone run of the ballgame came in the top of the second. A single by Brown brought around Hagerdon who led off the inning with a single.

Despite allowing just two earned runs in 1.2 innings of work, Ringley took the loss for the Blazers.

Hood hosts its first doubleheader of 2011 Thursday against Dickinson College at 3 p.m. at the Hood Softball Field.