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BUCKHANNON, W. Va. - The Bloomsburg University softball team had trouble generating much offense against California University of Pennsylvania starter, Alex Sagl, on Friday afternoon as the Huskies dropped a 3-1 decision to the Vulcans in the opening game of the 2016 NCAA Division II Softball Atlantic Region 1 Tournament hosted by West Virginia Wesleyan. Bloomsburg dropped to 44-8 overall and will play an elimination game at 7:30 p.m. on Friday evening. The Vulcans improved to 37-4 on the season and will play in the winners' bracket at 5:00 p.m.

All told, Bloomsburg had three hits against California's senior righthander, with the only run coming on a solo home run over the right center field fence from junior Mallory Tomaschik (Catawissa, Pa./Southern Columbia) to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning.

Junior Taylor Parker (Dewart, Pa./Warrior Run) was matched up with Sagl in tossing goose eggs up on the scoreboard for the first five innings. The righthander had to pitch out of jams as her command was slightly off ove the first three frames. Parker walked two batters in the first and walked another in the second before getting out of trouble.

In the California half of the third inning, the Vulcans loaded the bases on a walk and back-to-back singles with one out. But, Parker made her biggest pitch of the game by getting Hailey Wilson to bounce into a 1-2-3 double play to end the threat.

Parker settled down after that point, retiring all six batters she faced in the fourth and fifth innings.

Meanwhile, the Huskies' offense did not muster a base hit until the bottom of the fourth inning when freshman Marissa Shelhamer (Nescopeck, Pa./Central Columbia) reached on an infield single to second base. Shelhamer, however, was left stranded.

Freshman Taylor Winkelman (Springfield, Pa/Springfield) had Bloomsburg's other hit - a two-out single to right field in the bottom of the fifth.

California drew first blood in the top of the sixth, getting two runs on three hits against Parker to take a 2-0 advantage. Jacquelyn Fowler led off the frame with a solo home run to straightaway center to get the Vulcans on the board. After a single from Taylor Robblee, Wilson sacrificed her to second with one out. Robblee advanced to third on a wild pitch and eventually scored on a run-scoring single from Erica Vallecorsa.

Tomaschik gave the Huskies life in the bottom of the sixth when she belted her fifth home run of the season to cut the Vulcans' advantage to 3-1.

Parker, however, ran into trouble in the top of the seventh and was taken out after the first two California batters reached base - a leadoff double down the left field line and an error. With runners at first and third, junior Sarah Bortner (Glenville, Pa./South Western) came on in relief and got a bouncer to short for the first out of the inning. After a baserunning blunder by the Vulcans during the next at-bat, Bortner found herself one batter away from getting out of the inning. But, a slow roller down the first base line produced miscommunication as three Huskies converged on the ball, but no one covered first base. The infield single brought home Emily Price for an unearned insurance run.

The Huskies went in order in the bottom of the seventh against Sagl to force Bloomsburg into an elimination game later Friday evening.

Parker dropped to 13-2 on the season after allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings. She walked four and struck out four. Bortner allowed only the infield single in her inning of work. Sagl, meanwhile, improved to 15-3 by allowing a run on three hits in her complete-game effort. She walked two and struck out seven.

Fowler and Robblee did the majority of the damage, offensively, for the Vulcans by going a combined 5-for-7 at the plate with two runs scored and two runs batted in.

The Huskies will play the loser of the West Virginia Wesleyan / Winston-Salem State contest at 7:30 p.m. on Friday evening at Culpepper Field.