Softball Posts 10-4 Win Over Curry, Ties 5-5 in Game Two

MILTON, Mass. – The visiting Bridgewater State University softball team battled Curry College in a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at D. Forbes Will Field.

The Bears (5-20-1) posted a 10-4 win in the opener while game two was called due to darkness after six innings with the score tied at 5-5. The host Colonels fall to 11-13-1 on the season with the loss and tie.

Game One: Bridgewater State 10, Curry 4

Senior catcher Madison Dana (Lynn, Mass.) went 4-for-5 with a run and three RBI to lead Bridgewater State to the 10-4 victory in game one. The Bears banged out 16 hits in the opener.

The Bears scored the first four runs of the game and led 7-1 after four innings of play. Dana connected for a two-run single in the first inning and added an RBI single in the third. Sophomore designated player Amelia Blake (Raynham, Mass.) also plated a run in the third with a sacrifice fly. Senior third baseman Kerrin McLaughlin (Haverhill, Mass.) knocked in a pair of runs and senior first baseman Olivia Silva (Somerset, Mass.) singled home a run in the top of the fourth.

A two-run single by junior second baseman Taylor McDermott (Durham, Conn.) and a wild pitch cut the Curry deficit to 7-4 in the bottom of the fifth. McDermott went 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and two RBI to pace the Colonels in the opener.

The Bears strung together four hits in a three-run sixth inning to round out the scoring. Dana singled and scored all the way from first on an RBI double by Silva, while Blake and junior right fielder Molly Thibaudeau (Lincoln, R.I.) added RBI singles in the frame.

McLaughlin (2-5, 2R, 2RBI), Silva (2-2, 2B, R, 2RBI), sophomore left fielder Emily Marcotte (North Dartmouth, Mass.) and junior pitcher Madelyn Klingel (Windsor, Conn.) also recorded multiple hits for the visitors. Marcotte went 2-for-5 with her team-leading tenth stolen base of the season and two runs scored, while Klingel was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a run.

Klingel (2-10) worked the first four innings to record her second win of the season. She allowed three runs on six hits with three walks and a strikeout. Junior pitcher Tatiana Burcy (Hyde Park, Mass.) picked up her first collegiate save as she gave up one run on three hits in three innings of relief.

Junior pitcher Caitlyn Wood (Saugus, Mass.) suffered the loss in the circle for Curry. Wood allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits over three innings.

The game featured just two strikeouts, one for each team.

Game Two: Bridgewater State 5, Curry 5 (6 Inn.)

The Colonels rallied from a 5-2 deficit with a run in the fifth and two in the sixth to come away with the 5-5 tie. The game was stopped after the sixth inning due to darkness.

The Bears opened the scoring in the top of the first inning. Base hits by Marcotte and McLaughlin followed by a stolen base put runners at second and third with nobody out. Junior centerfielder Janet Jolly (Raynham, Mass.) plated Marcotte with a sacrifice bunt and McLaughlin scored on a wild pitch to put the visitors up, 2-0.

An RBI single by sophomore pitcher Jillian Rogers (East Freetown, Mass.) pulled the Colonels to within a run in the bottom of the third.

Bridgewater answered in the tip of the fourth as Blake walked and advanced all the way to third on an Alicia Habib (So., Haverhill, Mass.) sacrifice bunt. Blake then raced home on a Kailey Collins-Fiore (Fr., LaGrange, N.Y.) sacrifice bunt to extend the BSU lead to 3-1.

Freshman third baseman Samantha King (Stafford Springs, Conn.) homered over the centerfield fence in the home half of the fourth to cut the Curry deficit to 3-2. The home run marked the first of King's career as well as the first of the season for the Colonels.

The Bears came right back in the top of the fifth. McLaughlin singled and scored on an RBI double by Dana. After a ground out. Blake rapped an RBI single into right field to make it a 5-2 game.

Back-to-back BSU errors with two outs in the bottom of the fifth followed by a Madelyn White (Jr., Franklin, Mass.) RBI single got the Colonels to within two.

With two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the sixth, senior centerfielder Emily Bussiere (Stow, Mass.) reached on a bunt single and advanced all the way to third on a two-base throwing error. A walk to sophomore right fielder Natalia O'Kleasky (Coventry, R.I.) followed by a stolen base put runners at second and third. Rogers then ripped a two-run single through the left side to knot the score at 5-5.  Rogers moved into scoring position on the play as the Colonels had a chance to win it, but McDermott grounded out to short to end the darkness shortened game.

McLaughlin (2-3, SB, 2R) and Dana (2-3, 2B, R, RBI) collected multiple hits again for the Bears in game two.

Rogers went 3-for-4 with a run and three RBI to lead the way for Curry in the nightcap. Bussiere (2-4, SB, 2R) also notched multiple hits for the Colonels.

Rogers also went the distance in the circle allowed five runs on six hits over six innings with four walks and seven strikeouts.

Sophomore pitcher McKayla Cusack (West Haven, Conn.) gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits over 4 2/3 innings in the start for Bridgewater State. Cusack walked one and fanned two.

The two teams combined to strand 14 runners on base including at least one in every half inning exept the bottom of the fourth when King homered.

Up Next: Both teams are back in action with conference doubleheaders on Saturday at noon. The Bears travel to Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) foe Salem State University, while the Colonels entertain Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) rival University of New England.