HARROGATE, Tenn.. - The Bloomsburg softball team moves to 3-1 on the season after splitting its first two games at Abe's Invitational on Saturday.

In game one, the Huskies got another stellar outing from Callie Sowers (Irwin, Pa/Hempfield Area) to begin the weekend of action as the junior pitched a complete game, allowing one run off two hits and four walks with eight strikeouts in Bloomsburg's 4-1 victory over Saginaw Valley State.

In their second game of the day, the Huskies could not hang on in a 13-5 run-rule decision in five innings against hosts Lincoln Memorial to end the first day of action.

Game One: 
The Huskies (3-1) found themselves locked in a pitcher's duel against last season's GLIAC Championship-winning Cardinals (3-1). Through the first four innings, Sowers and GVSU starter Alyssa Muench allowed a combined eight base runners while tallying seven strikeouts each against the opposing lineup.

After Sowers stranded two runners in the top of the fifth, the Bloomsburg bats got to work in the bottom half of the inning. Three of the first four batters reached during the bottom of the fifth for the Huskies, loading the bases. Bloomsburg remained disciplined in the box, with Mia Nemeth (Drums, Pa/Marian Catholic) and Taylor Kranzley (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) drawing back-to-back walks to plate the first two runs. Freshman Sarah Yamrick (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot) came through with the bases still loaded, sending a double into the outfield to give the Huskies a 4-0 lead. Bloomsburg left the bases loaded but with the damage done in the inning. 

Sowers returned to work, allowing her only run of the day after an inopportune sequence in the outfield. The junior ace would retire the next three batters via pop flies to minimize the damage. The four runs in the fifth was all Sowers would need in the end, retiring Grand Valley State in order in the top of the seventh to secure the Huskies' third win of the season. 

Game Two: 
The runs and intensity picked up in Bloomsburg's second game of the day against hosts Lincoln Memorial in Saturday's nightcap. 

The Huskies got on the board first after capitalizing on miscues by the Railsplitters (10-10) in the first inning. After Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) singled to center field, Nemeth and Alex Iseminger (Everett, Pa./Everett Area) reached on consecutive errors by the Lincoln Memorial defense, with Iseminger's contact resulting in a 2-0 lead for Bloomsburg. The Railsplitters would later respond in the second, loading the bases off three walks and scoring from a sacrifice fly and successful double steal to make it a 2-2 game.

With two outs, Kranzley and Sage Weidlich (Pittston, Pa./Pittston) poked singles to the left side of the outfield as freshman Josie Straigis (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) regained the lead for the Huskies with a RBI double to the same spot in the outfield. Up 3-2, Lincoln Memorial rallied to drive in five runs and take a 7-3 advantage after three innings of play.

Both teams would go scoreless in the fourth as the offenses racked up more runs in the fifth inning. With two outs and runners on first and second, Straigis returned to the plate and came through with a clutch piece of hitting, hitting an opposite-field double for her second RBI of the day. Bloomsburg drew consecutive walks at the plate, making it a 7-5 contest with the bases loaded and one out. Unfortunately, the next two batters would be retired.

Ultimately, the game would end as the Railsplitters' batters would plate six in the bottom half of the fifth to wrap up the action. At the plate, the freshman tandem of Straigis and Yamrick continue to impress, combining to hit 3-for-5 with three doubles and four RBI through the weekend's first two games.

On the Horizon: 
The Huskies are back in action tomorrow at Abe's Invitational, first with the second game of the weekend against Saginaw Valley State at 10:00 a.m. before taking on PSAC foe Clarion at 12:00 p.m.