FLORENCE, S.C. – The Bloomsburg University softball team went 1-1 on the final day of its trip South to open the season. The Huskies began the day with a 10-2 win in five innings over Mercy College before falling to Tusculum 8-2 in the day's final game.
 
The Huskies jumped out to a quick lead in their first game of the day as they put up five runs in the first inning against Mercy. With runners on the corners, graduate student Nicolette Ray (Abington, Pa./Abington) singled to center and took second on the throw as sophomore Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) came home from third to give BU a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Alex Iseminger (Everett, Pa./Everett Area) followed with a single of her own to bring home senior Erin DelPierre (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) and give the Huskies a 2-0 lead. Freshman Emma Little (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford) cleared the bases with her first career home run to cap off the five-run inning for the Huskies.
 
Danielle Barnes (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) doubled down the left-field line with two outs to bring around Iseminger and Ray and push the Huskies' lead to 7-0.
 
Mercy got one back in the bottom of the second as Hailey Puglia singled up the middle and scored Nicole Smart to cut the lead to 7-1. Bloomsburg extended its lead back to eight runs with Ray's two-run double, and Iseminger gave the Huskies a 10-1 lead with a single to bring home Ray.
 
Mercy scored the game's final run in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single from Alexis Crawford. Sophomore Savannah Doney (Trout Run, Pa./North Penn-Liberty) threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth to seal her first win of the season with the complete-game effort.
 
In the second game of the day, Tusculum put up four runs in the top of the third to take a 4-0 lead. The Pioneers added three more in the top of fourth to extend their lead to 7-0 and essentially put the game just out of reach. Tusculum tacked on an insurance run in the top of the six to take an 8-0 lead after five and a half innings.
 
The Huskies got a pair of runs back in the bottom of sixth as Ray doubled to left-center to bring home senior Sammi Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area) and freshman Jayla Bartholomew (Williamsport, Pa/Williamsport).

The Huskies put two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, but Ireland Cavanaugh got out of the jam, and the Pioneers held on for the 8-2 win.
 
Next Sunday, the Huskies return to action when they travel to Goldey Beacom for a 1:00 pm doubleheader in Wilmington, Del.