BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University softball team split a pair of low-scoring, one-run contests against visiting East Stroudsburg University on Monday afternoon at Jan M. Hutchinson Field. The Huskies won game one, 3-2, behind the solid pitching from senior Tara Baney (Howard, Pa./Bellefonte Area), but a rally attempt fell short in game two as the Warriors posted a 4-3 victory in the nightcap. Bloomsburg moved to 7-15 overall and 5-15 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division while East Stroudsburg moved to 14-8 and 9-7, respectively.

Baney out-dueled East Stroudsburg's Marah Range in game one as the senior righthander allowed only one earned run on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts to improve to 3-8 on the season.

The Huskies gave Baney a one-run lead when they broke through in the bottom of the second against Range. Senior Abby Wild (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) reached on a one-out triple to right field and came in to score on an RBI double to center from junior Alexis Wetzler (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area) to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Bloomsburg extended its lead to 2-0 as junior Erin DelPierre (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) started the rally with a one-out single. After a walk to Wild, Baney helped herself by ripping a single to left center that plated DelPierre for the lone run of the inning.

The Warriors scored an unearned run in the top of the sixth as a Bloomsburg error with two outs in the inning allowed Kaitlyn Caleen to score, cutting the Huskies' lead in half. But, the Huskies got the run back in the home half of the sixth to push the margin back to a two-run lead. Senior Nicolette Ray (Abington, Pa./Abington), who was lifted for freshman pinch-runner Kammi Kropinski, doubled to start the inning. Consecutive bunt singles by DelPierre and Wild followed which allowed Kropinski to come in to score the important insurance run for the Huskies.

The run proved to be crucial as East Stroudsburg started the seventh with back-to-back singles against Baney. After a groundout, Sofia Cecchin pulled the Warriors to within a run with a sacrifice fly to left. Baney, however, preserved the victory by striking out Caleen with the tying run at third to end the opener.

Range dropped to 8-3 on the season after allowing three runs on nine hits. She walked two and struck out one in the complete-game effort.

DelPierre and Wild had two hits apiece for the Huskies while freshman Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy), junior Danielle Barnes (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh), Ray, Baney, and Wetzler had the others.

Game two was scoreless until the top of the third inning when the Warriors plated a run against Bloomsburg's game-two starter, Wild, to take a 1-0 advantage. East Stroudsburg then pushed the lead to 4-0 with a three-run fifth inning as it took advantage of a costly Bloomsburg error. Wild was charged with two of the runs in the inning while Baney, who came on with two on and nobody out in the inning, had one charged to her. All three of the runs in the inning, however, were unearned.

Bloomsburg answered right back with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to 4-3. Junior Rebecca Rossi (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton Area) reached on an infield single but was erased when Lenner bounced into a fielder's choice for the first out of the inning. Barnes followed with a single to right which allowed Lenner to advance to third with one out. Junior Sammi Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area) singled to drive home Lenner for the Huskies' first run of the game. Two batters later, freshman Alex Iseminger (Everett, Pa./Everett Area) reached on an infield single to plate Barnes and then DelPierre followed with a bases-loaded walk to bring home Starr for the third run of the inning. However, Leigh Ann Jenkins got the final two outs of the inning for East Stroudsburg as the Huskies left the bases loaded to end the fifth.

The visitors had a chance for some insurance runs in the sixth as they loaded the bases with two outs before Baney got Morgan Walsh to groundout to end the inning. Bloomsburg got a runner to second in the bottom of the sixth but couldn't score and then was retired in order in the seventh as the Warriors salvaged the split.

Wild dropped to 4-6 on the year as she went four innings and allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits. She walked two and struck out two. Baney pitched the final three innings and allowed an unearned run on two hits and a pair of walks. MicKayla Grow picked up her first win of the season for East Stroudsburg and the game-one starter, Range, came on for the final six outs to earn her first save of the season.

Bloomsburg had ten hits in game two with Starr leading the way by going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Lenner and Rossi had two hits apiece with Barnes, Iseminger, and Wild adding the others.

The Huskies are off until Friday, April 16, and Saturday, April 17, when they play Mansfield University in a four-game series. The two teams will open in Mansfield on Friday, beginning at 2:00 p.m., and will return to Jan M. Hutchinson Field on Saturday for a noon start.