MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The Bloomsburg softball team clinched its place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship Tournament Saturday afternoon with a pair of wins against Millersville to wrap up the regular season.

The Huskies will enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed from the Eastern Division.

Bloomsburg took game one by a score of 7-5, using a pair of middle-inning home runs from freshmen Josie Straigis (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) and Sarah Yamrick (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot) to remain out front for good. 

In game two, the Huskies found their stride offensively, matching a season-high 13 runs scored with 17 hits, the second-largest single-game total of the campaign, to claim a 13-7 win.

The Huskies finish the regular season 31-20 with an 18-14. The Marauders wrap up their season 25-24 with a 16-16 record in conference play.

Game One: 
Looking to bounce back after a pair of defeats to begin the final weekend, the Bloomsburg offense plated a pair of runs to take an early 2-0 lead.

The Huskies struck first in the second inning, started by a one-out single from Taylor Kranzley (Northampton, Pa./Northampton). The Bloomsburg second baseman advanced to second before being driven in by a two-out RBI single into right field by Emmat Little.

The team doubled its advantage in the third with the first RBI of the afternoon for Yamrick. Emmie Rowe (Hetlerville, Pa./Central Columbia) led off the inning with a double and a sacrifice bunt attempt from Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) turned into an infield single to put runners on the corners with no outs. Two consecutive kept two runners on the corners with two outs, setting up Yamrick to drive in the Huskies' second run of the contest with a RBI single into center field.

Millersville got both runs back with one swing, a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 2-2. 

Bloomsburg remained aggressive at the plate, retaking the lead with a long-ball swing of its own in the top of the fourth. Mia Nemeth (Drums, Pa/Marian Catholic) began the inning with a lead-off single. Little looked to bunt over Nemeth into scoring position but a throwing error by the Marauders' first baseman allowed both runners to get into scoring position with no outs. Straigis stepped into the box in a pinch-hitting scenario and after loading the count, the Greensburg, Pa. native launched a ball over the fence in left field to give the Huskies a 5-2 edge. 

The home run power permeated the lineup, continuing into the fifth inning. Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) led off the inning with a double allowing Yamrick to step into the box in another RBI situation. The freshman delivered again, hitting her first career home run to put the Huskies in front by five.

The Marauders would get three back in the bottom of the seventh with their second home run of game one but it proved not enough to complete a comeback effort.

Game Two: 
The offense carried over for both sides into the second contest, with the two teams combining for 11 runs through the first three innings.

Culp started game two with a lead-off single before being bunted over to get into scoring position. In the next at-bat, Lenner forced the first of seven errors in the contest by Millersville to put two runners on base. Yamrick followed with a single into right field, leading to a bad throw by the right fielder, getting behind the catcher, and allowing Bloomsburg to take a 1-0 lead.

The Huskies built upon their lead with two runs in the top of the second. With two outs and a runner on second, Culp singled into center to extend the advantage to two. Weidlich singled into right field, causing another mistake by the Marauders' right fielder to allow Culp to round third and extend the edge to three.

Millersville cut into the deficit for the first time with a solo home run in the bottom of the second to make it a 3-1 game. 

Yamrick and Kranzley began the third with back-to-back hits but a good relay from the outfield stymied Bloomsburg's initial attempts to extend its advantage. With two outs, Little stepped up to the plate and rocked a ball to left field for her fifth home run of the season to provide the Huskies with a four-run cushion.

The lead did not last long as the Marauders answered Bloomsburg with five runs in the bottom of the third to take a 6-5 lead, their first in either contest on the afternoon. The highlight of the inning was a grand slam for Millersville's Gabi Turner.

Unfazed by the response, the Huskies posted their largest single inning of the season with eight runs in the top of the fourth to put the game out of reach.

Bloomsburg capitalized on four errors by the Marauders' defense in the inning. Lenner singled in the first two of the inning to regain the lead for the Huskies at 7-6. Kranzley hit her second double of the contest off the wall to plate one and extend the advantage to two. An error from the shortstop allowed the lead to grow to three before Little singled into left field to extend the edge to four. Another single from Culp gave Bloomsburg 11 runs in the contest before another infield error from Millersville allowed two to score and make it 13-6.

Kelly Eberly (Purcellville, Va/Homeschooled) came in relief for the Huskies and provided a strong outing to stifle any attempts of rallying by the Marauders. The junior stranded runners on the corners in the third by recording back-to-back strikeouts to set the tone for her appearance. The two punchouts started a run of seven consecutive outs recorded before getting the final out in the bottom of the sixth following two walks. Eberly's lone run surrendered came off a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh, escaping the rest of the frame without further damage to pick up the win. 

At the end of the regular season, Lenner currently sits 10th in program history with 221 career hits. Callie Sowers (Irwin, Pa/Hempfield Area) continues her ascendance as one of the most accomplished pitchers in team history, holding top-10 program marks in appearances (6th), wins (12th), strikeouts (4th) and innings pitched (8th).

On the Horizon: 
The Huskies await their next opponent in Quakertown, Pa. for the 2024 PSAC Tournament, following final seeding. Play for the PSAC crown begins on Wednesday, May 1. Stay tuned into buhuskies.com for a tournament preview and further information regarding the tournament.