Softball Downs Elms, Falls to Alverno

NAPLES, Fla. – The Bridgewater State University softball team split a pair of games at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Wednesday in Naples, Florida.

The Bears (4-4) posted a 15-7 victory over Elms College before dropping a 4-0 decision to Alverno College.

In the opener, the Bears used an eight-run second inning to break the game open.

A two-run double by senior third baseman Samantha LoPilato (Medford, Mass.) and a two-run single off the bat of freshman shortstop Shannon Grindle (Halifax, Mass.) highlighted the eight-run uprising.

Senior second baseman Courtney Leddy (Saugus, Mass.), senior first baseman Morgan Cox (Dennis Port, Mass.) and senior catcher Jackie Welch (Hubbardston, Mass.) contributed RBI singles in the frame, while sophomore right fielder Julianne Coleman (Roslindale, Mass.) walked twice including a base load free pass to cap off the scoring.

Freshman pitcher Deianeira Underhill (Rochester, Mass.) picked up the win in her collegiate debut. Underhill allowed seven runs, only two of which were earned, on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. She walked three and fanned two.

The Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first as Cox belted a two-run homer. The dinger marked her first of the season.

After the Blazers tied it in the second on a two-run double by Elizabeth Olszewski, the Bears answered with the eight-run uprising to take control of the game.

Elms chased Underhill with a five-run fifth inning as the Blazers cut the deficit to 10-7. Elms capitalized on a BSU miscue which led to all five runs being unearned.

Senior pitcher Kathleen Bailey (Bayport, N.Y.) got the final out of the fifth inning and worked a scoreless sixth to record the save.

Four Blazer errors led to three unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth as the Bears extended their lead to 13-7. Leddy then ended the game, due to the eight-run mercy rule, with a two-run single in the sixth to account for the final tally of 15-8.

Leddy (2-for-5), Cox (2-for-4), Welch (2-for-4) and sophomore center fielder Kacie Carvalho (Fairhaven, Mass.) all recorded multiple hits for Bridgewater. Leddy scored a run and drove in three, while Cox finished with three runs and three RBI, and Welch notched two runs and an RBI. Carvaho went 2-for-5 with three runs scored.

In the second game, Ashlie Rossi tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout to lead Alverno to the 4-0 win. Rossi (2-2) did not walk a batter and fanned one.

Alverno scored all four of its runs over the first three innings. Kristin Holub, Bailey Jedrzejewski and Carina Jimenez each went 1-for-3 at the plate with an RBI to lead the Inferno offense.

Bailey (2-2) tossed all seven innings in the circle in the loss for the Bears as she allowed four runs (one earned) on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

The Bears wrap up the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Thursday when they take on Kenyon College (9:00 AM) and Swarthmore College (11:00 AM).