Bridgewater State softball Team Loses Pair of 1-0 Decisions in NCAA Div. III Tournament

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The frustration began building in the morning and continued in the afternoon, covering two NCAA Div. 3 softball tournament games.

Bridgewater State University was simply unable to generate any offense all day long on Friday, first against third-seeded Babson College and then against seventh-seeded Husson University of Maine.

The Bears went 14 innings without scoring a run and were limited to only 10 hits by the Beavers and the Eagles.

Making the situation even more frustrating was the fact that pitchers Amber White of Middleboro and Meghan Dunn combined to allow only two runs (both unearned) and a mere five hits in the two games.

The sixth-seeded Bears dropped difficult 1-0 decisions to both Babson and Husson and were eliminated, extending their NCAA tournament losing streak to 13 games dating back to 2002.

“It’s frustrating in any game when you can’t get the offense going,’’ said senior third baseman Jennifer Shaw of Brockton. “You try so hard, do all the cheering you can, but if it’s not going to happen, it’s not going to happen. We were all in it and we all wanted it. What can you do?’’

Said interim head coach Allie LeBlanc: “There was really good pitching and we expected that. It’s almost like I want another shot at it, but I couldn’t ask for more from these girls. They never gave up.’’

The Bears (26-17) managed only two hits against Babson’s Kathleen Conway, who struck out 10 and didn’t walk anyone. Only Melissa Harmon (leadoff double in the third) and Jessica Laudati (leadoff infield hit in the fifth) got to Conway.

White was just as effective, allowing only three hits (two by Babson senior Jackie Enos of Taunton, a Coyle-Cassidy graduate). The Beavers’ lone run came with two outs in the second when Lindsey Schmid, who was hit by a pitch and advanced to third, scored on an infield error.

A near identical script was followed in the loss to Husson, which had only two hits and got the only run of the game off Dunn in the second inning when the Bears committed three of their four errors.

A throwing error with runners at second and third allowed Deb Colpitts to score, and that is all the Eagles needed.

BSU had eight hits in the second loss, two each by Courtney Gregoire and Laudati, but the Bears stranded seven runners.

Dunn allowed one hit in her four innings against Husson while White pitched the final three innings, giving up a hit and lowering her earned run average to 0.60, one of the best in the nation.

“The pitching has been lights out all season,’’ said LeBlanc. “They carried us, Amber and Meghan and (catcher) Brianna (Strecker). That trifecta has been amazing. We’ve been very, very lucky.’’

The Bears, who averaged only four runs per game this season, simply couldn’t get any offense to back that superb pitching.

“It was on and off,’’ said LeBlanc of the offense, which was shut out eight times this season. “When it was on, it was really on. We picked it up (later in the season). We were hoping to have that momentum keep going.’’

BSU, which opened the season 4-9 and went through a coaching change when Lori Salvia resigned in March, rebounded to win the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference title and make the NCAAs for the first time since 2009.

“I don’t want the losses here to overshadow what they’ve done,’’ said LeBlanc. “They came from the lowest of lows and turned this entire season on its head. They never gave up. Nothing fazed them. Steph (Pierce, the assistant coach) and I couldn’t ask more of this team. It’s a great group of girls.’’