HTML Box Score vs. California (Pa.)
HTML Box Score vs. Seton Hill
QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University softball team went 1-1 on the second day of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament on Thursday (May 3), defeating California (Pa.) 4-1 before being eliminated by Seton Hill with a 9-4 loss.
The game against California (Pa.) stayed scoreless through four and a half innings before the Huskies plated three runs in the home half of the fifth.
Bridget Casey (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) led off the inning with a single, before
Emily Getz (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) drew a hard-fought walk to move Casey into scoring position.
Erin Smith (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock Area) would reach on a bunt single to load the bases with no one out, before
Taylor Winkelman (Springfield, Pa/Springfield) came up with a one-out single to center field that scored both Casey and Getz to put the Huskies up 2-0.
Maggie Hall (Cooperstown, N.Y./Cooperstown) would follow suit with a RBI single to center field of her own to bring Smith home to stretch the Huskies lead to three. Each team would score once in the sixth to put the game at its final score, with Taylor Robblee scoring Brooke Wilson unearned on a sacrifice fly to center to get the Vulcans on the board. The Huskies would pad their lead with a solo shot from
Marissa Shelhamer (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia), her third of the season.
Bloomsburg scored four runs on six hits while committing one error in the win to stave off elimination. Hall paced the offense with two hits, while four other Huskies each recorded one hit in the game. Winkelman drove in two runs in the contest, along with Hall and Shelhamer each driving in one. Four different Huskies scored runs in the win.
Alyssa Davies (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) (9-8) earned the win in the circle with a complete game effort allowing one unearned run on five hits while walking and striking out two apiece.
The win over California (Pa.) was No. 250 in the career of Huskies head coach
Susan Kocher, who has been at the helm of her alma mater since 2010. Prior to taking over as head coach, she was an assistant coach under the legendary
Jan Hutchinson for 23 seasons. Kocher is also a member of the Bloomsburg University Athletic Hall of Fame.
The elimination game against Seton Hill began similarly to the first game, with no scoring for the first two innings. The Griffins would take the lead with four runs in the home half of the third, beginning with a RBI single from Laken Ryan that scored Abbie Thrower. Devyn Terry delivered the big blow of the inning with a three-run bomb that brought home Ryan and Osikowicz. The Huskies would respond in te top of the fourth with three runs, beginning with a leadoff double from Hall.
Emily Mayhew (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) stepped to the plate and mashed her seventh long ball of the season to cut the Huskies deficit in half.
Kalynn Wheeland (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) would follow suit with her team-leading 11
th bleacher creature of the season to go back-to-back and make it a 4-3 ball game. The Griffins would distance themselves from BU for good with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and three more in the bottom of the fifth. Winkelman collected another RBI on the day in the top of the sixth when she drove in Casey to try to spark a Huskies rally. The rally fell short and the Huskies were eliminated.
The Huskies scored four runs on nine hits while committing three errors in the loss. Nine Huskies each tallied one hit in the game, while Mayhew brought home two runs and Winkelman and Wheeland each drove in one. Four different players also scored runs in the loss. Davies (9-9) took the loss in the circle in the nightcap, allowing four runs on six hits while walking one and striking out four through four innings.
Tara Baney (Howard, Pa./Bellefonte) came on for two innings of relief allowing five runs, two earned on six hits while recording one strikeout.
The loss concludes the 2018 softball season, and the Huskies finish with a record of 20-22.
