Softball Opens 2022 Campaign with Pair of Wins over Finlandia, Penn State Altoona

LEESBURG, Fla. -- The Bridgewater State University softball team opened the 2022 season with a pair of wins on Saturday at The Spring Games in Leesburg, Florida.

The Bears (2-0) posted a 5-2 victory over Finlandia Unversity in the opener and followed that up with a 7-3 win against Penn State Altoona.

In the opener, senior pitcher Laura Hatch (Middleboro, Mass.) went the distance in the circle allowing two unearned runs on just three hits. Hatch (1-0) walked one and struck out eight.

After falling behind due to an unearned run in the bottom of the first, the Bears answered quickly in the top of the second as sophomore first baseman Morgan Cournoyer (Burrillville, R.I.) plated junior second baseman Kerrin McLaughlin (Haverhill, Mass.) with an RBI single.

The game remained knotted at 1-1 until the fifth inning. Senior rightfielder Emma Healy (Plymouth, Mass.) led of the frame with a triple and raced home two batters later on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by graduate centerfielder Alexandra Ruprecht (Kingston, Mass.).

In the sixth, McLaughlin singled, stole second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on Healy's RBI single to extend the BSU lead to 3-1. The Bears then pushed across two more runs in the seventh to make it a 5-1 game as junior third baseman Olivia Silva (Somerset Mass.) doubled home a run and later scored on Cournoyer's RBI single.

A pair of Bridgewater State errors led to an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh to round out the scoring.

Cournoyer went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs batted in to pace the BSU offensive in the win over Finlandia. Senior shortstop Megan Sharon (East Longmeadow, Mass.) rapped out three hits in four at bats to lead the 14-hit attack. Healy (2-4, R, RBI) and McLaughlin (2-4, 2R) also finished with multiple hits for the Bears.

Senior pitcher Kelley Reichert (Milford, Mass.) went the distance in the circle and finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs an RBI to lead the Bears to the 7-3 victory over Altoona. Reichert (1-0) allowed three runs on eight hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

Bridgewater jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Healy led of the frame with a walk and, two batters later, Reichert followed with a base hit to put runners at the corners. After Reichert stole second, both runners advanced on a passed ball with Healy crossing the plate with the first run of the game. One out later, Reichert trotted home from third on Ruprecht's RBI double.

A sacrifice fly by graduate catcher Madison Synan (Quincy, Mass.) made it a 3-0 game in the third.

After Altoona cut the defict to 3-1 in the fourth, the Bears responded with three runs in the fifth to extend the lead to 6-1. Reichert doubled and later scored on Ruprecht's sacrifice fly. Freshman second baseman Amelia Blake (Raynham, Mass.) recorded her first collegiate RBI and classmate Ashleigh Hartsfield (Cumberland, R.I.) scored her first collegiate run on Blake's RBI groundout, while the other run in the frame came as a result of a passed ball.

A two-run double off the bat of Altoona junior designated player Katie College (Davidsville, Pa.) closed the gap to 6-3 in the top of the sixth inning.

Healy walked, stole second and came around on Reichert's RBI single to cap of the scoring in the home half of the sixth.

The Bears finished with seven hits in the contest and were issued six walks. Healy walked three times and scored two runs. Ruprecht went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Sophomore Madison Flamme (Bethel, Conn.) came off the bench to record her first hit in a BSU uniform, a fourth inning single to centerfield.

The Florida trip continues for Bridgewater State on Sunday when the Bears take on Muskingum a10:15 AM and Northland at 12:30 PM from Hancock Park in Clermont.