BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University softball team scored runs in bunches on Wednesday afternoon and held off visiting Clarion University in both games on a cold and blustery St. Patrick's Day at Jan M. Hutchinson Field. The Huskies got a walk-off sacrifice fly from senior Briannah Dobson (York, Pa./Central York) to earn a 10-9 victory in game one and then posted a 12-8 victory in game two which was shortened due to darkness in the nightcap. With the wins, Bloomsburg improved to 3-5 overall while Clarion dropped to 3-5 after the non-conference twinbill.

The Huskies fell behind by an 8-0 score in the opener before scoring nine runs in the bottom of the third to take a 9-8 advantage. Both teams exchanged single runs in the seventh inning as Bloomsburg won a wild game one. In game two, the Huskies used a four-run first inning and a five-run fifth to complete the sweep.

Clarion jumped on redshirt junior righthander Abby Wild (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) for four runs in the top of the first inning, plating the runs on two hits, two walks, a hit by pitch, and a wild pitch. Rebecca Kelley, the fifth consecutive batter to reach base to start the game, had the big blow of the inning with a two-run single. Wild, however, buckled down and retired the next three batters - two via strikeout.

Bloomsburg left the bases loaded in the home half of the first inning, and the visitors went right back to work in the second as they added three more runs to take a 7-0 lead. Back-to-back walks against Wild to start the inning ended the righthander's outing. Senior Tara Baney (Howard, Pa./Bellefonte Area) came on in relief and allowed a run-scoring single to Brooke Cline and, two batters later, a two-run single to Jessica Cartia before getting out of the inning without any further damage. The Huskies would again leave the bases loaded in the second, and Clarion tacked on another run in the top of the third when Carissa Giordano tripled to right-center to drive home Beka McClymonds for the eighth Golden Eagle run of the game.

The home half of the third started harmlessly for Clarion as starter Megan Anderson retired junior Alexis Wetzler (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area) to lead off the frame. However, Bloomsburg's next 11 batters reached base as the Huskies turned an 8-0 deficit into a 9-8 advantage. Dobson started the rally with a single, and senior Nicolette Ray (Abington, Pa./Abington) and freshman Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) followed suit with singles to load the bases for the third consecutive inning. Juniors Paige Thomas (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark's) and Danielle Barnes (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks to cut the lead to 8-2. Junior Sammi Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area) followed with a two-run single to pull the Huskies within four, and after a walk to junior Erin DelPierre (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) re-loaded the bases, Wild came through with a two-run single to trim the lead to 8-6. Three more consecutive hits by Wetzler, Dobson, and Ray scored the final three runs of the inning as Bloomsburg took its first lead of the game.

All told, in the bottom of the third, the Huskies sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine runs on eight hits and three walks.

Pitching on both sides would settle down as neither team would score again until the top of the seventh when Kelley led off the top of the seventh for Clarion with a towering home run to center to knot the game at 9-9. But, in the bottom of the seventh, Starr started the Huskies' rally with a double to lead off the inning. After a lineout off the bat of DelPierre, Wild and Wetzler cracked back-to-back singles to load the bases with one out. Dobson then followed with a deep flyout to left field that plated Starr for the game-winning sacrifice fly.

Bloomsburg scored ten runs on 15 hits, while Clarion scored nine times on 11 hits in the opener. Baney pitched well in relief and earned her first victory of the season. She went six innings and allowed three runs on nine hits, one walk, and nine strikeouts - two shy of her career-high of 11 punchouts against Clarion back on April 7, 2018. Kendyl Switzer took the loss in relief for Clarion after allowing two runs on six hits in 4.1 innings. She walked one and did not strike out a batter.

Dobson went 3-for-4 with a run scored and three runs batted in, while Starr, Wild, Wetzler, and Ray had two hits apiece in the victory.

In game two, Clarion scored first against senior righthander Balee Leeser (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) without the benefit of a hit in the top of the first inning. However, the Huskies responded with four runs in the bottom of the first against Clarion starter Laura Sadowski. Wetzler drove home the first run of the game on a fielder's choice, and then Ray followed with a two-run double to center to give the Huskies their first lead of the game. Lenner added an RBI single for the fourth run of the inning.

Bloomsburg added a single run in the bottom of the second when Ray singled home Starr who led off the inning with a base hit.

Clarion cut the lead to one with a three-run top of the third inning, but the Huskies responded two runs in the home half of the inning to take a 7-4 lead. After the first two outs of the inning, junior Rebecca Rossi (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton Area), Starr, and DelPierre raked consecutive doubles for the two-out lightning.

However, in the fourth, Clarion took an 8-7 lead as Leeser walked back-to-back hitters with one out to end her afternoon. Wild came on in relief and allowed a walk to load the bases before Cartia cleared the basepaths with a grand slam home run to left-center for the big blow. Wild allowed another hit following the home run but then struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning.

Bloomsburg responded with five runs in the home half of the fifth to take a 12-8 lead. Starr singled with one out and then advanced to second on a single from DelPierre. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and the game-one hero, Dobson, came up clutch again with a go-ahead two-run single to give the Huskies a 9-8 lead. Two batters later, Ray doubled to left center - her fourth hit of the game - to drive home the third run of the inning. Lenner and Thomas also had run-scoring singles later in the frame to extend the Huskies' lead to four.

Clarion went quietly in the top of the sixth against Wild, and the umpires decided the call the game due to darkness, with the Huskies completing the sweep after a shortened game two victory.

Wild earned the win to even her record at 2-2 on the season. She went 2.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits, walked two, and struck out five. Kelley was saddled with the loss for Clarion in a relief effort as she was tagged for five runs on six hits in 1.2 innings. She walked two and struck out two to fall to 1-1 on the season.

Bloomsburg had 15 more hits in game two as Ray went 4-for-4 with a run scored and four runs batted in. Starr and DelPierre had three hits apiece, while Lenner added a pair of singles in the victory.

The Huskies will return to the diamond for a four-game series against Kutztown University this coming weekend. The two teams are scheduled to open in Bloomsburg on Friday, March 19, beginning at 2:30 p.m., with the series concluding in Kutztown on Saturday, March 20, with a 1:00 p.m. start.