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CLARION, Pa. – Bloomsburg's
Chrissy Belko (Old Forge/Old Forge) homered in homered once in the opener and twice in the nightcap, including back-to-back shots with
Rachel Fredell (Dingmans Ferry/Delaware Valley) as the Huskies swept a PSAC Central doubleheader from Clarion. BU won the first game in extra innings, 6-4, before ending game two early with a 14-0 victory.
Overall, Belko was 5-for-9 with three homers, a double and nine runs batted in during the two wins. She now has 10 home runs on the season.
In the opener,
Kayla McHale (Dillsburg/Northern) singled in
Lea Rehm (Bloomsburg/Bloomsburg) to break a 4-4 tie in the ninth inning and a sacrifice fly by Fredell gave the Huskies an insurance run in the victory.
Bloomsburg had jumped out to an early lead with a three-run first inning. With two outs, Fredell tripled to right to drive in McHale. Belko followed with an RBI double and scored on a single by
Hannah Moir (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape ) to make it 3-0.
Belko stretched the lead to 4-0 with a solo homer in the fourth. The Golden Eagles struck back with four runs in the bottom of the frame, fueled by a two-run single by Kacie Nemeth.
After that,
Cait Paine (Lebanon/Lebanon) settled in and retired 14 of the final 15 batters she faced.
It took until the ninth to break the tie, however. Rehm led off the frame with a single to center field and moved into scoring position on a base hit to left by
Mandi Baer (Douglassville/Daniel Boone). McHale's single brought in the winning run and Baer scored on a fly to right to get the Huskies some breathing room.
Belko was 3-for-5 in the game with a double, a home run, two runs scored and two runs batted in. McHale,
Mandi Black (Huntington Mills/Northwest Area) and Rehm had two hits apiece.
Paine pitched her 13th complete game of the season and was dominant other than the fourth inning rally, which was extended by a fielding miscue by Bloomsburg. In nine innings, she struck out 16 batters, did not issue a walk, and scattered seven hits. The 16 punch outs are a season-high for Paine and the sixth time this season she has reached double figures in a game.
Chelsea Zola took the loss despite allowing just two runs in five innings of relief.
Game two saw Belko homer to right to drive in three first inning runs as the Huskies scored in all five innings before the game was stopped. She was 2-for-3 in the contest with a pair of long balls and three RBIs.
Leading 3-0 in the second, McHale singled in a run and later scored on a base hit by Fredell to extend the lead to five. Black drove in a run in the third as the Huskies jumped ahead 6-0.
Fredell hit a two-run homer in the fourth to make it 8-0 and forced a Clarion pitching change. The new hurler did not fare any better as the first batter she faced, Belko, clubbed an offering over the fence in center field. With two outs,
Valerie Carcasses (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) tripled in another run as the Huskies took a commanding 10-0 lead.
Two errors in the fifth inning opened the way for a four-run frame.
Erika Yanora (Tunkhannock/Tunkhannock) and Carcasses singled in runs in the inning, as well.
The run support was more than enough for
Brianna Taylor (Mifflinville/Central Columbia), who spun a two-hit shutout inside the circle for her first career victory. The freshman faced just three batters over the minimum in the contest.
McHale went 2-for-3 with a walk and scored three times in the game. Baer, Fredell and Carcasses also had multi-hit games. Fredell also homered and drove in three.
Amanda Gough had both hits for Clarion and Kiersten Gromley took the loss after allowing eighth earned runs in three innings.
With the wins, Bloomsburg improved to 19-7 on the year. The Huskies also remained tied with Lock Haven atop the standings in the PSAC Central with matching 5-1 records.
Bloomsburg remained perfect all-time against the Golden Eagles at 17-0.
BU will look to stay in the win column on April 12 when the Huskies travel to Mansfield for a conference doubleheader.
