ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Bloomsburg softball team dropped a pair of tight games to Eckerd College on Tuesday evening in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Huskies (4-10, 0-0 PSAC East) fell to the Tritons (15-9, 2-7 SSC) by a score of 5-2 in the first game, then Eckerd used a two-run sixth inning to beat Bloomsburg 2-0 in the second game.
In the first game, Eckerd got out to a solid start by getting the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the first inning. After loading the bases, the Tritons gained a 1-0 lead after one runner scored on a walk, but sophomore pitcher
Callie Sowers (Irwin, Pa/Hempfield Area) was able to sit down the next three hitters in order to get out of the jam.
Eckerd added another run in the third inning on a bunt, but Bloomsburg would answer with two runs in the fifth to tie things up at 2-2.
The Huskies scored both of their runs with two outs, and the rally started when
Kammy Kropinski (Conshohocken, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) drew a walk on a full count. During the next at-bat,
Taylor Kranzley (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) hit a triple to right center field that allowed Kropinski to score from first.
Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) kept things rolling with an RBI single to left field to tie the game up at 2-2.
The tie game was broken up in the bottom half of the inning, however, as Eckerd started the bottom of the inning off with a single and advanced the runner into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt in the next at bat. Megan Diaz then had an RBI triple to make it a 3-2 game.
The Huskies did get two runners on base in the top of the sixth with one out, but a fielder's choice and strikeout on a full count allowed the Tritons to get out of the inning unscathed.
Eckerd then tacked on two more runs in the sixth to make the score 5-2 and held Bloomsburg scoreless in the top of the seventh to pull out the victory.
At the plate for Bloomsburg in the first game, Kranzley led the way by going 2-for-3 with a double, triple, RBI and run scored.
Sage Weidlich (Pittston, Pa./Pittston) also had three hits, going 3-for-4 with a double. Lenner,
Alex Iseminger (Everett, Pa./Everett Area),
Taylor Welsh (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville) and
Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) added singles to bring Bloomsburg's hit total to nine.
In the circle, Sowers struck out eight hitters in six innings while allowing three earned runs.
The second game was more of a defensive battle as some solid pitching and textbook defense by both teams kept the game scoreless until the sixth inning.
Both teams had runners on base during the first five innings of the contest, but neither were able to cash in on the opportunities.
For Eckerd, their first chance came in the bottom of the first when they had runners on first and third, but a steal attempt came resulted in the runner at third getting tug out at home by sophomore catcher
Emma Little (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford).
The Huskies had runners aboard with one out in three different innings but were unable to get a runner to reach home plate.
In the bottom of the sixth, Eckerd had runners on first and second with two outs after getting a pair of singles in the inning. Addisan Langston then knocked in both baserunners with an RBI double to center field to make it a 2-0 game.
Bloomsburg had its best chance to score in the top of the seventh inning, which started with a lead-off walk that was drawn by Welsh. Following a fielder's choice and line out by Kranzley, Little had a double to center field that allowed Culp to reach third and get the tying run on second base. Eckerd was able to get a strikeout in the next at-bat to hold off the rally and hang on for a 2-0 win.
Little was 2-for-3 with a double and
Jayla Bartholomew (Williamsport, Pa/Williamsport) had a single. Weidlich kept up where she left off from the first game, going 2-for-3 to finish the day a combined 5-for-7.
On the mound, Welsh threw 5.2 innings and allowed just two runs on nine hits. Eckerd's Olivia Johnson improved to 7-2 on the year after throwing seven scoreless innings.
Bloomsburg will be back in action on Wednesday with a doubleheader at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. The games are scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM.
