QUAKERTOWN, Pa. - The Bloomsburg softball team's 2025 Championship run ended after its second loss of the week Thursday afternoon.

The Huskies (31-19) survived their first challenge of the day, taking down Shippensburg (31-19), 5-1, with a late surge for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. In the second game, Bloomsburg pulled within one of Shepherd (25-21-1) but could not get the needed runs to get ahead in a 3-2 defeat.

Emma Little (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford) had the biggest swing of the day for the Huskies, launching a three-run home run to extend the team's lead to four for her fourth RBI of the contest against the Raiders. Sarah Yamrick (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot) produced both runs for Bloomsburg in game two, first recording a sacrifice fly to put the Huskies on the board before a two-out RBI double to give the team a fighting chance in the seventh. Across both games, Sage Weidlich (Pittston, Pa./Pittston) was a combined 5-for-7 (.714), including a 3-of-3 performance against the Rams. 

How It Happened:

Game One:
Bloomsburg managed to manufacture a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Yamrick started things with a five-pitch walk. With two outs, Taylor Kranzley (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) notched a single with a full count, while Allie Wenrich (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) took a hit-by-pitch to load the bases. Little stepped into the box and, on the second pitch, hit a dribbler to the diving Shippensburg shortstop. The attempted flip to third was not in time, as Kranzley beat out the throw to allow Yamrick to score and put the Huskies up one. 

Yamrick's strong performance carried over to the mound, with the sophomore going 7.0 innings with just one run allowed on six hits and four walks while recording four strikeouts. The right-hander got the first six outs in order before running into the first trouble of the day in the third. Shippensburg turned a leadoff single into two runners aboard following a sacrifice bunt and a walk. Turning over the lineup, Yamrick hunkered down and got the top two in the order down, first with a fly ball and then getting the final out on a swinging third strike. The Raiders continued to push for the tying run, getting two runners on in the fourth and fifth innings. Yamrick's efforts from the bump continued to keep Shippensburg from gaining ground.

While the Raiders could not convert on their earlier opportunities to produce offense, the Huskies also had their missed chances. Through the first five innings of the contest, Bloomsburg left 12 runners on base, including with the bases loaded in the first two frames. Shippensburg finally broke through in the top of the sixth after loading the bases with one out. Yamrick was engaged in a deep-pitch battle with the Raiders' catcher, getting the short end of several near-misses around the zone, leading to a walk that tied the game at 1-1. The sophomore responded by getting the next two outs, first getting out number two on a called third strike before a lackadaisical pop-up to keep the game knotted up.

Yamrick's resolve carried over into the bottom of the sixth, with the Huskies breaking through to put the game out of reach. Yamrick and Mia Nemeth (Drums, Pa/Marian Catholic) started the inning with back-to-back singles to force a pitching change from Shippensburg. Kranzley loaded the bases with a misplayed bunt single to load the bases once more for Bloomsburg. The third time proved to be the charm, with Wenrich sending a deep fly off the fence for what turned out to be just one run and a long single for a 2-1 advantage. Little set up in the box and battled her way to the biggest hit of the day after fouling off three consecutive pitches. The senior catcher got a 2-2 change-up that sat over the middle of the plate for a blast over the fence in right-center field to make it a four-run game. 

Bloomsburg took care of business in the closing stretch, getting some tidy defensive displays to put away the game. The Huskies got out number with a popped-up foul ball, with first baseman Taylor Welsh (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville) ranging over to make an outstretched play to her left. In the next at-bat, a bloop single split Kranzley and Wenrich in shallow right field. Kranzley rallied to the ball and rifled in a throw to second base to get an over-aggressive base runner trying to extend the single into a double. Yamrick and the Huskies ended the game, forcing the Shippensburg cleanup batter to ground out to Malauni Frost (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) at third base to move on to the next game. 

Game Two:
Bloomsburg dove into action immediately following their game against the Raiders with a matchup against Shepherd. The game started as a scoreless back-and-forth through the first three innings. The Huskies put one runner aboard in the first three innings, getting their first in scoring position with a pair of bunts, a single from Weidlich, and a sacrifice from Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin). The team could not stack its early offensive efforts into run support. 

Kelly Eberly (Purcellville, Va/Homeschooled) fought out of several tough situations to keep the game tied at 0-0 in that time frame. With two on and one out, the senior got help from the defense with a stellar dive and flip from Kranzley to Culp at second to get a force to put runners on the corners with two outs. Eberly got the final out of the first with a slow roller back at Kranzley to prevent early damage. The left-hander got through the next two innings, leaving a runner on second to keep the game churning. 

The Rams eventually found their way onto the scoreboard for their three runs. With the bases loaded and one out, the nine-hole hitter for Shepherd dropped a single into right-center field for the 2-0 lead. The Rams turned their lineup over, and with it came another RBI single to extend the lead to three and end Eberly's day. Callie Sowers (Irwin, Pa/Hempfield Area) came in relief, shutting the door on the push from Shepherd with a pair of outs to the outfield to keep the game within reach. 

Bloomsburg's best chance for a momentum-changing output came in the top of the fifth. An error from the Rams' third baseman, followed by back-to-back singles from Weidlich and Culp, loaded the bases for the Huskies. Bloomsburg would get one off a hard-hit fly ball right to Shepherd's center fielder for a sacrifice fly. That run would be all the Huskies would get in the exchange, as another two fly balls straight to center ended the inning with two runners aboard. 

Sowers carried on the trait of perseverance in the fifth and sixth innings, getting out of a two-on, two-out situation in the fifth and a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the sixth with support from her outfielders to give her team a chance heading into the seventh. Bloomsburg fought until the end in the final frame. With a runner on first and two outs, Yamrick hit a shallow-sailing ball into center field that dropped in front of the center fielder and rolled behind, allowing Culp to race from first to home to make it a one-run game. The rallying effort came too late for Bloomsburg, with the final out coming in the next at-bat and ending the Huskies' PSAC title hopes.

Numbers of Note: 
19 - The Bloomsburg lineup had offensive flashes throughout its week at the PSAC Championships but left opportunities on the table Thursday afternoon. The Huskies had 19 runners left aboard in their two games, 13 against Shippensburg and six against Shepherd. 

5 - Thursday's victory against Shippensburg marked the fifth consecutive win for Bloomsburg over the Raiders. That stretch is the longest for the Huskies since winning six in a row from 2008 to 2012 and the longest in the series since Shippensburg won four between 2022 and 2023. 

6 - While Bloomsburg could not advance to Day Three of the PSAC Championships, the Huskies put up a quality effort against one of the best pitchers in the PSAC and Division II. Madelayne Ruffner, averaging a DII-leading 13.6 strikeouts per seven innings for Shepherd entering Thursday afternoon, recorded six on the day against Bloomsburg, her lowest in a qualified start this season and the only outing this year with under a strikeout per inning. 

50 - Wenrich's freshman season continues to be one for the record books. The outfielder became the 10th player in program history to record a 50-RBI season, becoming the first to do so since 2016. 

25 | 137 - Little's pop at the plate continues to be a boon for the Huskies and a historic presence in program history. The senior catcher's 25 career home run makes her the 10th player in school history to reach the milestone. Her four RBI against Shippensburg moved her into seventh all-time at 137.

On the Horizon: 
The Bloomsburg softball team awaits its fate with the NCAA Selection Show, scheduled for Monday, May 5, at 10:00 a.m. The selection show will be available on NCAA.com.