SALISBURY, N.C. – After a quick 4-1 win in the first game, the Bloomsburg University softball team won a back-and-forth affair 9-7 to sweep Catawba University, Saturday afternoon. With the sweep, the Huskies improved to 5-3 on the year while the Indians dropped to 8-12.
 
The Huskies took the first game 4-1 behind timely hitting and another solid start from junior Abby Wild (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley).
 
After a scoreless first for both teams, sophomore Sammi Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area) led off the inning with single to center field. B Dobson followed with a single of her own to left before Nicolette Ray (Abington, Pa./Abington) got the Huskies on the board with a double to left as Starr came home and Briannah Dobson (York, Pa./Central York) moved to third. Julia Knight (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) extend the Husky lead with a sacrifice fly to left to bring home Dobson. Tyler White (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) singled to right to cap the Bloomsburg three-run inning as Ray came home.
 
Starr pushed the Huskies lead to 4-0 with her first home run of the season with two outs in the sixth.
 
Meanwhile, Wild had allowed just four hits over the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings, and no runner got past second before the bottom of the sixth. With two outs and runners on first and third, Preston Ellenberg singled to left field and Cameron Shaffner scored. Taylor Martin, at first, was tagged out by Starri after Danielle Barnes (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) got the ball back in and catching Martin trying to advance to end the inning.
 
Ray led off the seventh with a double to right center but the Huskies couldn't get her home and held the 4-1 lead going into the final frame. Wild got three quick outs, including two fly balls to Barnes in left to seal her third win of the year and improve to 3-2 for the year.
 
Wild went all 7.0 innings and allowed just one unearned run on seven hits, three walks, while striking out five. Wild did not allow an extra base hit.
 
Starr went 2-for-3 in game one with two runs scored and an RBI while Ray was 2-for-3 at the plate as well with two doubles, a run and an RBI.
 
Brooke Walser took the loss for Catawba after going the full seven, allowing four earned runs on six hits and striking out just one Husky.
 
The Indians seemingly took control of the second game early as they pushed one run across in the bottom of the first with an RBI ground out to take a 1-0 lead. Knight tied the game in the top of the second with a single to right but Catawba answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second thanks to a Husky error that led to two runners coming home.
 
Ray got one back for the Huskies in the top of the third but the game proved to be a true back-and-forth contest as Catawba pushed its lead back to two, 4-2, after a sac fly in the bottom of the third.
 
Bloomsburg's offense exploded for four runs in the top of the fifth to take its first lead of the game, 6-4. Dobson got things started with a single to right to bring home Starr and Rebecca Rossi (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton Area) before Knight singled to center to score Ray. Barnes put the finishing touches on the four-run inning as she doubled down the left field line  and Dobson was able to come home.
 
The Indians answered with a three-run bottom of the fifth to regain the lead, 7-6. Katelyn Jones and Allie Baker drew back-to-back walks to open the frame before Bailey Benton singled through the right side and brought Jones home. Wild came out to pitch for Tara Baney (Howard, Pa./Bellefonte) and Baker came home to score on a wild pitch. Wild got the first out of the inning with a ground out but the runner on second, Sydney Goertzen, was able to advance to third. Taylor Martin singled through the left side to give Catawba a 7-6 lead but Wild got a fielder's choice and a strike out to end the frame and the scoring threat.
 
With two outs, Kelsey Impink (Perkiomenville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) singled up the middle to get the first baserunner of the sixth and on a 2-1 count, Starr hit her second home run of the day, first of the game, to give the Huskies the lead for good, 8-7.
 
Wild gave up her first and only extra base hit of the game to Riley Tucker to open the bottom of the sixth, but another strikeout and a fly out put the pressure on the Indian offense. Wild got Brooke Lowery swinging on a 1-2 pitch to end the frame.
 
Dobson launched her first home run of the season with the first pitch she saw in the top of the seventh to give Bloomsburg a 9-7 lead and enough of a cushion for Wild. The junior ended the game with a strikeout of Jordan Dean in the seventh to seal her second win of the game and the Huskies fourth-straight victory.
 
Erin DelPierre (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin), Ray, Dobson, and Knight all collected a pair of hits in the second game while Dobson drove in three runs and scored twice.
 
Wild picked up the with throwing 3.0 innings without allowing a run on four strike outs and wild pitch. Madison Hunter took the loss for the Indians as she threw 2.0 innings and allowed five runs on five hits and one walk. Hunter struck out one, threw one wild pitch, and hit one batter.
 
The Huskies are right back in action tomorrow as they travel to Winston-Salem State University for a 12:00 p.m. double header in Winston-Salem, N.C.