BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University softball team swept a doubleheader against non-conference foe Lasell College on Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Park. The host Bears posted a 5-0 shutout in game one and complete the sweep with a 2-0 blanking in the nightcap.
The Bears, who have won four straight games and five of their last six, improve to 11-7 on the season. The Lasers fall to 10-8 as they suffered their fourth straight setback.
Game One: Bridgewater State 5, Lasell 0
Senior right-hander Amber White (Middleboro, Mass.) tossed a complete game one-hitter and fanned a season-high 11 batters to lead the Bears to a 5-0 victory in the opener. The shutout marked her team-leading fifth of the season. White (8-1), who at one point retired 16 batters in a row, took a no-hitter into the ninth before a bloop single with one out broke up the bid.
Bridgewater pushed across two runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Bears loaded the bases on back-to-back singles by Tara McCann (Fall River, Mass.) and Jessica Laudati (Berkley, Mass.) and a fielder's choice grounder by Jennifer Galavotti (Marion, Mass.). A sacrifice fly off the bat of Jill Welch (Hubbardston, Mass.) plated McCann with the first run of the game. Two batters later, Samantha LoPilato (Medford, Mass.) looped a single down the right field line to bring around Laudati to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
The Bears made it a 5-0 game courtesy of a three-run sixth inning. Laudati singled to lead off the frame and moved to second when Galavotti was hit by a pitch. Welch rapped a base hit up the middle to plate Laudati, and Kelly McCarthy (Burlington, Mass.) followed with an RBI single to score Galavotti. One-out later, Welch came around to score on RBI single off the bat of Sydney Ezold (Westfield, Mass.).
Laudati went 2-for-3 with two runs scored to lead the Bears' nine-hit attack. Ezold finished 2-for-3 with a run, while Welch was 1-for-1 with a single, sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly.
Eileen Bergin (Arlington, Mass.) suffered the loss in the circle for the Lasers. Bergin (6-4) allowed five runs on nine hits while striking out five.
Game Two: Bridgewater State 2, Lasell 0
BSU rookie right-hander Kathleen Bailey (Bayport, N.Y.) picked up her first collegiate win and shutout to lead the Bears to a 2-0 win in the nightcap. Bailey (1-2) scattered four hits, walked three and struck out a career-high nine batters. She worked out of a bases loaded, two-out jam in the fourth by inducing an inning-ending ground out.
The only runs of the game came in the bottom of the sixth inning as a result of two Lasell errors. With one out, Laudati reached on an error when the first baseman dropped a throw from third. After a fly out, pinch runner Breanna Shaffer (Plainville, Mass.) stole second and advanced to third on Corrie McCue's (New Bedford, Mass.) single through the left side with McCue taking second on the throw home. Shaffer and McCue would come around to score one batter later when a pop up near the circle was missed for a two-base error.
Krystel Enko (Haydenville, Mass.) pitched very well in the setback for the Lasers. Enko (4-3) allowed just the two unearned runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout. Nicole LeBlanc (Easton, Mass.) was the only player in the game with multiple hits as she went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles.
The Bears travel to Rhode Island College on Thursday afternoon for a non-conference twinbill with the Anchorwomen. First pitch for game one is slated for four o'clock. The Lasers head to Anna Maria College on Friday afternoon for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader with the AMCATS starting at three.