By JIm Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The lengthy losing streak began 12 years ago this week with a 2-1 setback to Western Connecticut State University.

The Bridgewater State University softball team dropped 13 consecutive NCAA Division 3 tournament games starting with that May 12, 2002, loss.

On Friday afternoon, that postseason drought finally came to an end when the Bears used the usual stellar pitching of Amber White of Middleboro and a pair of three-run innings to win their first NCAA tourney game in a dozen years.

BSU opened a four-team, double-elimination regional with a 6-1 victory over host Wellesley College, sending the Bears to an 11 a.m. game today against Saint Joseph's College of Maine.

"It was great," said White of stopping the NCAA skid. "This is exactly what we wanted to come out here and do. We didn't want to go down in two (straight games) like last year. We wanted to break that long-time Bridgewater losing streak and we did."

The Bears (30-12) reached the 30-win mark for the first time since 2001 with the victory over the Blue (27-10).

White, who entered the tournament as the national Division 3 leader with a 0.42 earned run average, scattered four hits, struck out seven, walked one and allowed just a two-out, seventh-inning run.

The offense was sparked by a leadoff home run by Kelly McCarthy that began a three-run fifth inning, and BSU added three more runs in the sixth to pull away.

"I knew Wellesley was a really good hitting team and I just wanted to keep my spins tight, my speed up and don't put the ball too far over the plate," said White, who is 23-3. "Our (offense), once somebody gets it started, there's no stopping it. We just have to wait for that one pop, and Kelly's homer started it for us."

Wellesley committed five errors in the first three innings, but the Bears were unable to take advantage, and the game was scoreless until the fifth-inning outburst.

"It was very frustrating," said coach Chrissy Semler. "We hate leaving runners on base. Opportunities were happening and we weren't getting runners across. We kept a positive attitude and knew that it was a matter of time before we got something going."

McCarthy started it with a homer over the left-field fence, and Courtney Leddy followed by reaching on an infield hit. Jill Welch then singled to center, and a Jocelyn Bettencourt infield hit made it 2-0. Welch scored on Wellesley's sixth error of the day.

In the sixth, Samantha LoPilato and Karissa Pagan of Brockton singled and advanced on a groundout before a Leddy sacrifice fly increased the lead to 4-0. Welch then doubled home Pagan, and another error brought in Welch with the final run.

"We've been hitting really well and our goal was to put the ball in play," said Semler. "Amber's been doing a great job of shutting down the opposing teams. We wanted to keep the bats hot and stay positive throughout the game.

"Amber was definitely on. She had some key strikeouts that kept us ahead throughout the game. Having Amber on the mound and the defense that has been solid all season long. When it all comes together, we have all the pieces you want."

A win over Saint Joseph's today would advance BSU into the championship round on Sunday. The Bears defeated Saint Joseph's, 8-0, on March 10 in Florida when White tossed a five-inning no-hitter.

Saint Joseph's advanced on Friday with a 10-0 victory over Western Connecticut State.

White and the Bears dropped a pair of 1-0 games in the NCAAs last season, and the experience helped BSU breakthrough in the opener against Wellesley.

"It helped a lot,'' said White. "Last year, coming in was a little nerve-wracking, a little shell-shocking. We told all the new players what to expect and that we deserved to be here.''