CLERMONT, Fla. -- The Presidents earned their first shutout of the season, blanking Elmhurst (Ill.), 9-0, before dropping the finale in Florida to Bowdoin (Maine), 9-1.

Washington & Jefferson's softball team will return north with an overall record of 4-8 after a 4-6 showing at the PFX Spring Games.

W&J opened up a 3-0 lead through two innings against Elmhurst thanks to RBI singles by Addy Helffrich (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth) in the first and Rachel Johnson (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) in the second. The Presidents took a 3-0 lead when Johnson was thrown out attempting to steal second, which allowed Meghan Staab (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) to cross the plate.

The Presidents broke the game open in the top of the fourth with four runs on five hits. The first three batters singled to load the bases and Brooke McCleester (Johnstown, Pa./Conemaugh Valley) delivered a pinch-hit, two-run single down the left-field line for the fourth consecutive hit. Johnson and Dana Parker (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) (who had re-entered for McCleester) stole bags to place runners at second and third and Johnson scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-0. Helffrich capped the scoring in the inning with her second RBI single of the game, 7-0.

Two more runs crossed in the top of the seventh. Brooke Lapia (Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley) hit a bases-loaded RBI single and Jamie Smith (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) collected an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

Taylor Andres (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) worked the distance in the circle, improving to 3-3 on the season and earning her fourth career shutout. She gave up just three hits to the Blue Jays and struck out a pair of batters, while needing just 77 pitches. The junior also helped herself at the plate with a pair of base hits as W&J pounded out 16 total hits.

Johnson and Helffrich each had three hits, while Danielle Kochka (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway), Lapia and Staab joined Andres with two hits apiece.

Against Bowdoin, W&J tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second on an RBI book-rule double by Staab, but the Polar Bears added at least one run in each of the final five frames to pull away with the victory.

Johnson ran her hitting streak to 12 games with a lead-off base hit in the bottom of the first, while Helffrich, Lapia, Smith, Lexie Creyer (Blandon, Pa./Fleetwood) and Staab rounded out W&J's six hits.

Kristen Fuertes (West Chester, Pa./West Chester) tossed the first 4.0 innings and gave up eight hits and five runs (zero earned) in suffering the loss.

W&J is scheduled to return to the field at Pitt-Greensburg on Tuesday, March 27 at 3:30 p.m., but be sure to check gopresidents.com for the latest W&J schedule changes.