BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg softball team opened play at Jan Hutchinson Field in 2025 with a pair of run-rule victories over Jefferson Thursday afternoon.

The Huskies (5-3) began the day with an 8-0 win in five innings in game one. Callie Sowers (Irwin, Pa/Hempfield Area) took the mound and instilled a bounty of confidence within herself and her side en route to the victory. The senior recorded nine strikeouts in five innings while giving up three hits and one walk. Every member of Bloomsburg's lineup reached safely, featuring seven players registering a hit.

Game two continued the offensive onslaught, leading to a 9-1 win in six innings over the Rams (1-13). Kelly Eberly (Purcellville, Va/Homeschooled) got the starting nod and battled her way through early adversity to pick up her first victory on the season. The senior gave up one run in four innings pitched while sending four down on strikes. Sarah Yamrick (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot) picked her up in relief, tossing two scoreless frames and allowing one base runner via a walk. Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) headlined the performance at the dish with a 3-for-3 output for four RBI.

How It Happened:

Game One:
Sowers' commanding presence on the bump gave the team early needed momentum before handing things over to the offense through the first two innings. The Irwin, Pa. native sent down the first eight batters from Jefferson in order, with the first opponent reaching on a full-count walk in the bottom of the third. In the first time through the order, Sowers struck out five of the nine batters for the Rams.

In the first inning, Bloomsburg gave its pitcher a comfortable cushion, turning small ball into big plays. Culp led off the game for the Huskies with a five-pitch walk, her first of four between the two contests. A sacrifice bunt from Yamrick and a needle-threading single by Taylor Kranzley (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) put runners on the corners. With two outs, Mia Nemeth (Drums, Pa/Marian Catholic) stepped into the box and took the first pitch of the at-bat to dead center for her second home run of the season and a 3-0 Bloomsburg lead. 

The Huskies added to their lead with two runs in the bottom of the second. Allie Wenrich (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) opened the inning with a double and moved to third following aggressive baserunning on a ground ball. Former high school teammates linked up, as Macey Fisher (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) dropped a picturesque bunt toward the first-base line to plate a screeching Wenrich. The lead expanded to 5-0 as part of a two-out punch. Culp drew her second consecutive walk to set up Yamrick for the RBI opportunity. The sophomore delivered a shot to the cap in right-center to plate her teammate.

As Bloomsburg went without a run in the next two innings, Jefferson looked for its chance to get on the scoreboard. After being unable to do anything with two outs in the top of the third, the Rams recorded their first two hits of light contact to put the pressure on Sowers with two runners aboard and no outs on the scoreboard. The senior hurler did what she does best and powered through the following two batters with strikeouts to face a two-out scenario with runners on the corners. The situation did not faze the experienced pitcher, as she got the final out on a fly ball to right field to maintain the shutout. 

After stranding five runners in the third and fourth innings, the Huskies called their shot in the fifth and ended the game early with a three-run fifth. Josie Straigis (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) began the inning with a single to center field, providing the rallying spark. With runners on first and second, Fisher delivered with a hard-hit ball down the left chalk for a double to raise her game RBI total to three. After Fisher advanced to third on a wild pitch, Culp secured the win with her first hit of the game, an RBI single up the middle for the eighth and deciding run. 

Game Two:
Bloomsburg carried the momentum over in game two of the afternoon, piecing together five consecutive scoring innings to complete the doubleheader sweep. Eberly faced her first predicament of the afternoon in the second inning. The Rams posted their biggest scoring threat of the afternoon after putting three runners aboard with no outs. The Huskies defense recorded the first out with a force out at home plate. With the bases still loaded, Jefferson plated its first run of the afternoon from a sacrifice fly to right field just shy of the warning track to advance all three runners. With two more in scoring position, Eberly escaped the jam with just the one run allowed by sending the final batter of the inning back to the dugout on a called strike three.

Bloomsburg picked up its pitcher and grabbed the lead for good with two runs in the second. With an error and a sacrifice bunt, the Huskies put another runner in scoring position with less than two outs. Another freshman stepped up at the plate, with Malauni Frost (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) coming through with her career hit, a double down the left-field line, to plate her first collegiate RBI and tie the game at 1-1. Culp capped off the inning with another RBI single up the middle for the 2-1 advantage. 

Eberly reigned in herself through her final two innings of work and continued a well-execute effort to navigate out of trouble. In the third, the Rams opened the inning with a single. After Eberly struck out the following batter, Kranzley made a heads-up play at second base following a hot-shot line drive to double up the runner at first and put another zero on the board. Eberly pushed through another bases-loaded predicament in the fourth but negated attempts by Jefferson to score. The Rams strung together some two-out luck with a walk and an error to load the bases. The senior pitcher relied on her stuff, getting the final batter to swing through the last pitch of the inning to maintain the Huskies' margin. 

Bloomsburg plated one run in the third and fourth innings to expand the lead to 4-1. In the third, Straigis and Carly Wywoda (Dupont, Pa./Holy Cross) launched back-to-back two-out doubles. Culp delivered another RBI single, changing the location to the right side of the infield, to send Taylor Welsh (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville) home following the first baseman's leadoff single. 

The Huskies handed the keys over to Yamrick in the fifth, and it was smooth sailing from that point forward. The sophomore picked up her first career save on Thursday after recording six outs on 28 pitches. The continued stability built up the confidence of the Bloomsburg offense to force the run rule once more. Reagan Wiest (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) knocked in the first run of a three-run fifth inning to extend the lead to 5-1. With the lineup turned over, Culp came through with her biggest hit of the day, a two-run triple to right center to make it 7-1 after five innings. Bloomsburg ended the second leg with one out in the sixth after loading the bases. The Huskies scored the penultimate run on a wild pitch before an RBI single from Welsh to center field put the proverbial bow on the game.

Numbers of Note
9/3 - The Bloomsburg bats did a good job on Thursday of maintaining their composure at the plate. The Huskies finished with nine walks to three strikeouts, doubling their season total following the two wins.

618.2 - After securing five innings of shutout work on the mound, Sowers continued to work her way up the Bloomsburg record books. The senior right-handed pitcher jumps into the top five, currently at fourth, in career innings pitched at 618.2.

28 - Through the first five games, the Huskies totaled just 11 runs for a 2-3 record. In their last three times out on the diamond, Bloomsburg has totaled 28 runs in 16.2 innings at the plate.

On The Horizon:
The Huskies' attention turns to an active spring break. The games begin on Saturday, March 15, for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader at Lincoln (Pa.).