PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Bridgewater State College softball team dropped a 1-0 decision to Saint Joseph's College of Long Island at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament hosted by Rhode Island College.
St. Joseph's senior starting pitcher Jennifer
Martinez (Bay Shore, N.Y.) tied the NCAA Div. III record
for career strikeouts (1,125) with an amazing 21-K performance.
Martinez (29-2) recorded each of the necessary 21 putouts via the
strikeout. She allowed just one hit in seven innings of work to
record her 17th shutout on the season. It is the third time in her
career that Martinez has struck out 21 batters. She posted an NCAA
Div. III single game record with 24 strikeouts in the Golden
Eagles, 3-2, win (11 innings) over New Jersey City University on
Apr. 23.
The third-seeded Golden Eagles (31-6) advance to face second-seeded
Tufts University tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. The sixth-seeded
Bears (26-16) will face fourth-seeded
Wellesley College tomorrow at noon in an elimination
game.
Martinez led off the bottom of the fourth with a single to left
field. Senior second baseman Michelle Nardella
(Islip Terrace, N.Y.) followed with an infield bunt single to
shortstop to put runners on first and second. Senior left fielder
Kaitlin Schamberger (Levittown, N.Y.) singled to
left field and Martinez slid home with the game's only run.
Bridgewater State senior first baseman Danielle
Trull-Donahue (Stoughton, MA) managed the only Bear hit
with an infield bunt single in the third inning.
Bridgewater State junior starting pitcher Alyssa
Verronneau (Acushnet, Mass.) was the hard luck loser
(16-6), allowing just one run on five hits in six innings of work.
Verronneau, who struck out seven batters and walked just one, now
has 165 strikeouts on the season as she equaled Betsy Ahearn's
2001 total which is the second highest in BSC softball history.