BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg softball team fought to a doubleheader split Friday afternoon against No. 16 Kutztown at Jan Hutchinson Field. 

The Huskies (24-14, 14-10 PSAC East) lost the opening contest, 7-2, due to the Golden Bears' (31-12, 15-9 PSAC East) efforts with the long ball. Bloomsburg responded in game two, earning a run-rule decision in five innings, 9-1.

Sarah Yamrick (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot) picked up the win from the mound in the second contest of the afternoon, giving up one run on six hits and a walk through five innings. Reagan Wiest (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) was the shining star at the plate, putting up a career-best outing at 2-for-2 with her first career home run, a triple, five RBI and two runs scored.

How It Happened:

Game One:
One hit decided the early flow of game one, with the leadoff batter from Kutztown going yard in the first at-bat to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage. The Huskies put two runners aboard in the bottom half of the inning, forcing an early pitching change from the Golden Bears. The one-out single from Yamrick and the four-pitch walk from Mia Nemeth (Drums, Pa/Marian Catholic) did not lead to a response following the change on the mound.

Bloomsburg pressed forward from its initial scoring opportunity by putting a runner on second in the second and third innings. Allie Wenrich (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) opened up the second with a leadoff double. The Huskies' right fielder eventually moved the third off a tricky pop-up into foul territory, but Kutztown escaped again without a blemish. The third inning had Yamrick single and eventually reached second with one out. Two quick outs followed and stalled Bloomsburg's hopes for the third consecutive inning. 

The top of the Golden Bears' lineup made the Huskies pay for their missed opportunities, extending the advantage to three off a two-run blast from Kutztown's top-slotted batter. The Huskies found their lone two runs of the contest in response in the bottom of the fourth to bring the deficit back to one. Malauni Frost (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg), serving as a pinch hitter, drew a walk to get things going. Sage Weidlich (Pittston, Pa./Pittston) followed with a first-pitch single to put runners on the corners with no outs. Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) hit a ground ball back to the pitcher in the subsequent at-bat, resulting in an errant throw. One run would score, but Kutztown recovered in time to get the second runner aiming for home plate. Bloomsburg eventually plated its second run with a two-out double from Nemeth before the inning's end.

The Golden Bears found an added run in the top of the fifth, utilizing a ground out to make it a two-run game after a triple to begin the inning. The game would get away from the Huskies in the seventh after Kutztown's third home run (a three-run shot) pushed the differential to five. 

Game Two:
Bloomsburg wasted little time reversing its fortunes with early offensive production in the first inning to start game two. Culp began the day's second leg with a leadoff single, advancing to second with a sacrifice bunt from Yamrick. Nemeth delivered when called upon, getting a triple after a missed diving effort from the Golden Bears' center fielder. Carly Wywoda (Dupont, Pa./Holy Cross) was the next to help the Huskies' cause with an RBI single up the middle of the infield. The two runs would be all the team would get in the first frame, leaving the bases loaded.

Kutztown would get its lone run in the second game with a return trip to the home run well. The Golden Bears found the means to make it a one-run game with a two-out solo shot. Bloomsburg answered Kutztown's push to close the game with three runs in the bottom of the third. Following a pitching change and runners on first and second, Wiest notched her first hit of the afternoon with a one-out triple on a hit to center field that took a curtailing spon away from the Golden Bears' defense to score two. Wiest found her way home after a two-out single from Weidlich skipped through the left side of the infield to make the score 5-1. 

Making her third start of the week, Yamrick battled against various threatening scenarios to give her team a fighting chance. The day started with trouble from the first inning as two runners for Kutztown advanced into scoring position with one out. Yamrick backed the next two batters into corners with pop-ups to her infielders. In the fourth, the Golden Bears began the inning with back-to-back singles. The sophomore went after the next two batters, sending them down looking at strike three before a fly out to Wywoda in right field to end the inning. 

The Huskies took the game into their own hands in the bottom of the fourth, putting the second contest of the day out of reach. Yamrick got underway with a single and advanced to second on a bobbled ball in left field. Bloomsburg made Kutztown pay for that mistake with an RBI single from Taylor Kranzley (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) for a five-run edge. Wywoda drew a two-out walk to keep the inning alive following the third pitching change of the game for the Golden Bears. With the extended life, Wiest made Kutztown pay, sending her first career home run over the fence in left-center field for the pivotal eight-run lead. 

With the game in her hands, Yamrick controlled the tempo with another strong inning. The sophomore worked her way through the heart of the Golden Bears' lineup to secure the split for her side.

Numbers of Note: 
5 - The Huskies have had stellar individual performances throughout the season, and Wiest's game-two performance adds to the list. The sophomore's career-best output is the fourth such game from a fourth different player this season.

2 - The second result of the afternoon provided Bloomsburg with its second ranked victory of the season. The win is additionally the Huskies' second by run rule, the first being a 10-0 decision against then-ninth-ranked East Stroudsburg. 

0 - A part of Bloomsburg's turnaround in game two was discipline and patience at the plate. Not a single batter for the Huskies struck out in a contest for just the third time this season.

On the Horizon: 
The Bloomsburg softball team is back at Jan Hutchinson Field on Saturday, April 19, at 1:00 p.m. to take on Millersville.