Softball Blanks Cornell, Falls to Roger Williams at The Spring Games

CLERMONT, Fla. – The Bridgewater State University softball team split a pair of game on Wednesday at The Spring Games in Clermont, Florida.

The Bears (3-3) blanked Cornell College in five innings, 8-0, and then dropped a 5-4 decision to  Roger Williams University.

Game One: Bridgewater State 8, Cornell 0 (5 Inn.)

Kelley Reichert (Milford, Mass.) tossed a six-hit shutout to lead the Bridgewater State to the 8-0 victory in the opener. Reichert (2-1) did not issue a walk and struck out five.

The Bears plated three runs in the top of the first. Samantha Mulcahy (Taunton, Mass.) led off the inning with a base hit, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI double by Emma Healy (Plymouth, Mass.). After Alexandra Taylor (Hebron, Conn.) reached on an infield single to put runners at the corners, Healy raced home from third on the back end of a double steal. One out later, Taylor advanced to third on a passed and scored on Courtney Gouveia's (Taunton, Mass.) sacrifice bunt.

Bridgewater tacked on a pair of runs in the second. With one out, Meghan Navarro (Taunton, Mass.) reached on an error and came all the way around to score on Mulcahy's RBI triple to the gap in right-center. Healy then gave the Bears' a 5-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to left.

In the third, Gouveia worked a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a ground out. After Kin Scanlon (Medford, Mass.) walked a stole second, Alexandra Ruprecht (Kingston, Mass.) plated Gouveia with a sacrifice fly to give the Bears a 6-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, walks to Gouveia and Scanlon followed by a wild pitch put runners at second and third with one out. An RBI double by Ruprecht scored Gouveia and Navarro followed with an RBI single to left to plate Scanlon with the game-ending run.

Mulcahy (2-3, 3B, 2R, RBI)  and Taylor (2-2, BB, SB, R) each finished with multiple hits for the Bears, while Gouveia walked twice, scored two runs and knocked in one with a sacrifice bunt. Healy (1-2, 2B, SB, SF, R, 2RBI) and Ruprecht (1-2, 2B, SF, 2RBI) drove in two runs apiece.

Darice Wheeler (Evanston, Ill.) suffered the loss in the circle for the Rams (5-4). Wheeler (2-3) allowed eight runs (six earned) on seven hits and six walks with five strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings of work.

Carley Robison (Brighton, Colo.) singled twice in three at bats to pace the Cornell offense.

Game Two: Roger Williams, 5, Bridgewater State 4

The Bears seemed in command in the game two loss to Roger Williams as they led 4-0 after five innings of play. The Hawks (2-4), however, rallied for three runs in the third and two more in the seventh to win it in walk-off fashion.

Bridgewater State jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as the Bears pushed across a pair of unearned runs in the top of the first. Taylor and Megan Sharon (East Longmeadow, Mass.) connected for back-to-back singles and moved up on a wild pitch to put runners at second and third with two outs. Gouveia then reached on an error with both Taylor and Sharon scoring on the play.

Sharon doubled and raced home on Jenny Heller's (Chicopee, Mass.) two-out RBI double in the third to extend the Bears' lead to 3-0. Bridgewater tacked on another run in the fourth as Mulcahy scored all the way from first on Healy's two-out RBI double.

The Hawks rallied for three runs (two unearned) in the bottom of the sixth as they took advantage of a crucial BSU error in the inning. Alexandra Lombardo (Thomaston, Conn.), Tara Chatowsky (North Kingstown, R.I.) and Francesca Cioffi (Brewster, N.Y.) each recorded RBI singles in the frame.

In the bottom of the seventh, Sydney Provencal (Cumberland, R.I.) singled with one out, moved to second on a ground out and to third on a wild pitch. Chatowsky then looped a base hit into shallow left field to knot the score at 4-4. After Chatowsky stole second, Lombardo singled off the shortstop's glove to plate Chatowsky with the game-winning run.

Chatowsky went 3-for-4 with a stolen base run and RBI to pace the Hawks' ten-hit attack. Provencal (2-4, 2B, 2R) and Lombardo (2-4, 2RBI) also finished with multiple hits for RWU.

Taylor Myers (East Haven, Conn.) picked up the win in relief for the Hawks. Myers (1-1) retired five of the six batters she faced. Lia Nocella (Tyngsboro, Mass.) gave up four runs (two earned) on ten hits with a walk in five strikeouts in 5 ½ innings of work.

Sharon went 3-for-4- at the plate with a double and two runs scored, while Mulcahy (2-4, R) and Navarro (2-3, ) also recorded multiple hits for Bridgewater State. The Bears banged out 11 hits in the game, but also left nine runners on base.

Laura Hatch (Middleboro, Mass.) went the distance in the circle for Bridgewater State. Hatch (1-2) allowed five runs (three earned) on ten hits. She did issue a walk and struck out two.

Following an off day, he Bears will take on Geneva College (1:45 PM) and Simmons College (6:15 PM) on Friday at The Spring Games.