BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg softball team opened its weekend action with a doubleheader split against West Chester at Jan Hutchinson Field Saturday afternoon.

The Huskies took game one, 4-3, scoring all four of their runs in the first inning to hold on for the victory. Callie Sowers (Irwin, Pa/Hempfield Area) picked up her 18th win on the season, going a full 7.0 innings and surrendering three runs (all unearned) with five strikeouts in the win.

Bloomsburg dropped the back of the slate, 6-2, unable to score until the latter stages of game two and stranding the bases loaded with the tying run at the plate.

Bloomsburg moves to 27-16 on the season and is now 14-10 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. The Golden Rams sit at 27-18 overall with a 15-11 mark in the PSAC East.

Game One: 
West Chester made the Huskies work to get out of the top half of the first inning, forcing Sowers to toss 30 pitches in the opening frame. 

The lead-off batter for the Golden Rams reached on a walk and advanced via a wild pitch. A great team play allowed Bloomsburg to record out number two following a Sowers punchout by catching the baserunner in a rundown. Sowers walked the next two West Chester batters to put runners on first and second before getting the five-hole hitter to fly out to left field.

The Huskies got off to a flying start in the first inning which proved enough to get the job done. Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) and Sage Weidlich (Pittston, Pa./Pittston) reached base before being bunted over to put two runners in scoring position with one out. A walk in the following at-bat loaded the bases, allowing Taylor Kranzley (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) to plate the first run with a sacrifice fly. 

With the wind whipping, Mia Nemeth (Drums, Pa/Marian Catholic) launched an opposite-field triple past the reach of the right fielder to clear the bases and make it a 3-0 game. Emmie Rowe (Hetlerville, Pa./Central Columbia) plated the final run of the inning with a single to center field to extend the advantage to four.

Neither side would muster much before the Golden Rams made a run in the top of the fourth. After the first three batters reached base safely and loaded the bases, the Huskies were teetering on a West Chester comeback effort. Sowers and the defense got the first out via a force out at home before an RBI single from awkward contact off the bat allowed the Golden Rams to score their first run. After getting the second out, another RBI single from West Chester plated two more to cut the Bloomsburg edge to one. Sowers escaped further damage with a two-out swinging strikeout, stranding two runners aboard in scoring position.

The Huskies had opportunities in each of the next three innings to add insurance to the lead but left two runners on in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to leave the game in the capable hands of Sowers.

With two outs and two runners in scoring position, the game came down to a weak dribbler that dropped down the first-base line in the infield. Sarah Yamrick (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot) charged the ball and was able to scoop it up in time to make an extended effort to place a tag on the runner and come out of game one with the win. 

Game Two: 
The Golden Rams responded with two three-run spurts in the second contest of the afternoon to make it a game apiece on the day.

Four consecutive members of the West Chester lineup recorded a hit in the second, with a RBI single and double putting the visitors out in front early, 2-0. A fielder's choice in the subsequent at-bat tacked on one more to make it a three-run deficit for Bloomsburg.

The scoring halted for the next three innings before both sides added to the scoreboard.

The visitors added another three runs in the top of the sixth, extending their advantage to 5-0 with a two-run RBI triple before a single by the next batter made it a six-run lead for the Golden Rams.

The Huskies did not go down without a fight, finally finding a way onto the board in the bottom portion of the frame. Back-to-back singles from Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) and Yamrick before a walk from Kranzley loaded the bases for Nemeth. The center fielder launched a towering fly ball caught in the wind and landed just on the inside of the fence for a two-RBI double, cutting the deficit to four. Bloomsburg loaded the bases with a walk in the next plate appearance with no outs. Still, West Chester's Makenzie Edwards recorded three consecutive outs, minimizing the damage and keeping the Golden Rams out in front for good.

On the Horizon: 
The Huskies are back at Jan M. Hutchinson to wrap up the weekend slate on Sunday, April 21, at 1:00 p.m. against Kutztown.