BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg softball team split its doubleheader against Lock Haven in the home regular-season finale Tuesday afternoon.

The Huskies took game one, 4-3, recovering from a 3-1 deficit in the fifth to earn the victory. Callie Sowers (Irwin, Pa/Hempfield Area) picked up win No. 20 on the season, going a full seven innings while giving up three runs (two earned) and recording nine strikeouts. Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) had the deciding RBI in the contest, dropping a single on the left-field line to drive in a runner from third.

The Bald Eagles left with the victory in game two by a score of 11-2. Lock Haven scored nine unanswered through its first six innings at the plate to keep Bloomsburg at bay with any further threat. 

The Huskies sit at 29-18 heading into the final weekend of action. The team holds a 16-12 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). With the game one defeat, the Bald Eagles are eliminated from postseason contention, moving to 17-25 on the year with a 13-17 mark in conference play.

Game One: 
The opening contest started contentious between both sides, with both sides escaping first-inning predicaments to keep the game knotted at 0-0 through the first two innings.

Sowers dealt with early trouble as the first two batters reached second and third. The junior got the next two Bald Eagle players out via a popup and a strikeout. Another bunt attempt at a potential squeeze play allowed the batter to reach first but keep both base runners in place. Facing a full count, Sowers got the final Lock Haven batter faced in the first down on strikes to strand the bases loaded.

Bloomsburg found itself in a similar situation in the bottom of the first with the team loading the bases with one out. The Bald Eagles escaped their predicament, getting a force out at home plate before getting the next batter to fly out on a hard-hit ball to left field. 

Sage Weidlich (Pittston, Pa./Pittston) swung things in the Huskies' favor in the third with a triple to lead off the inning past the diving right fielder. After a pitching change, Sarah Yamrick (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot) plated the first run with a sacrifice fly to give the Huskies a 1-0 advantage. 

After a scoreless fourth, it was Lock Haven's turn to get on the scoreboard, plating three in the top of the fifth. The visitors opened the inning with a pinch-hit home run to get Bloomsburg on its heels. The next two batters of the inning reached and two successful and productive bunts from the Bald Eagles gave the visitors a 2-1 lead. In the next at-bat, a throw to home was waived off due to an obstruction call to give Lock Haven a two-run edge. After another sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position, Sowers struck out the next batter on three pitches to stop further damage.

The Huskies, however, were unwilling to back down, getting a jump start from a lead-off double from Culp in the bottom of the sixth. After Culp advanced to third, Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) drove in the Bloomsburg shortstop with a RBI single to center field. The hit sparked three consecutive singles, finishing with a RBI single up the middle from Taylor Kranzley (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) to tie the game at 3-3.

The Huskies used three hits in the sixth, a single from Emma Little (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford), a double from Josie Straigis' (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe), and Culp's game-winning RBI single to give their starter a chance to wrap up the game in the seventh. With her single, Little became the latest Bloomsburg softball player to reach the 100-hit benchmark.

After the tying run reached base via an error, Sowers remained focused on the play in front of her, getting the first out with her eighth strikeout of the afternoon. Another sac bunt put the tying run on second but it did not matter, with the Irwin, Pa. native getting the final batter to swing through the final pitch to give Bloomsburg the win.

Game Two: 
The second contest got away from the Huskies, unable to capitalize on early chances in the game.

Bloomsburg had the first chance of the second game, loading the bases in the bottom of the second. The next two batters for the Huskies would go down on six pitches, allowing the Bald Eagles to escape without a blemish.

Lock Haven used that momentum to post seven runs between the third and fourth innings, creating a sizable gap between the sides.

Kranzley had the highlight of game two for Bloomsburg with a two-run home run to dead center field off the scoreboard at Jan M. Hutchinson Field to make it a 9-2 contest after six innings.

The Bald Eagles would add two insurance runs in the top of the seventh en route to their win.

On the Horizon: 
The Huskies are on the road for its final two series of the regular season, first taking on #15 East Stroudsburg at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 26.