CLERMONT, Fla. – The Bridgewater State University softball teams dropped a pair of games to Bates College and Concordia University on Thursday at The Spring Game in Clermont, Florida.
The Bears wrapped up their season-opening Florida trip with an overall record of 3-7.
Bates 3, Bridgewater State 1
Sophomore righty Kirsten Pelletier (Sidney, Maine) went the distance in the circle for Bates. Pelletier (3-0) gave up just one run on three hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.
Junior left-hander Mackenzie Holt (Gilroy, Calif.) pitched well in the setback for Bridgewater State, but did not receive a lot of offensive or defensive support. Holt allowed three runs (one earned) on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Bridgewater opened the scoring with a lead-off home run by sophomore shortstop Samantha Mulcahy (Taunton, Mass.) in the top of the first. For Mulcahy, the home run marked her first in a BSU uniform.
An RBI triple off the bat of freshman DP Payton Buxton (Middlebury, Vt.) in the bottom of the first knotted the score at 1-1. The Bobcats pushed across an unearned run in the third on an RBI single by senior shortstop Tori Fitzgerald (Holliston, Mass.) to take a 2-1 lead.
The BSU defensive committed six errors in the contest which led to a pair of unearned runs. Three of the miscues occurred in the sixth inning when the Bobcats tacked on a key insurance run.
The Bears put a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, but Pelletier notched her final strikeout of the game to secure the win.
Mulcahy reached safely twice in three plate appearances as she also walked.
Concordia 6, Bridgewater State 5
Concordia battled back from a 5-0 deficit to score four runs in the sixth inning and two in the seventh as the Cougars stunned the Bears, 6-5.
Junior pitcher Marita Van Dyke (Brownsburg, Ind.) picked up the win in relief as she tossed two scoreless inning. Van Dyke (4-1) allowed a hit and walk and fanned three.
Bridgewater took a 2-0 lead in the third inning as Mulcahy reached on a bunt single and scored all the way from first on an RBI double by sophomore second baseman Meghan Navarro (Taunton, Mass.). Freshman right fielder Alexandra Ruprecht (Kingston, Mass.) followed with a base hit to right, and Navarro raced home when the right fielder misplayed the ball.
The Bears doubled their lead to 4-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth. A Kimberly Kowalick (Groveland, Mass.) triple and an infield single and stolen base by junior centerfielder Kacie Carvalho (Fairhaven, Mass.) put runners on second and third with one out. Mulcahy's RBI ground out plated Kowalick and Navarro followed with an RBI single to bring home Carvalho with BSU's fourth run of the game.
An RBI double by junior left fielder Jenny Heller (Taunton, Mass.) in the fifth extended the Bears' advantage to 5-0.
Concordia rallied for four runs in the sixth on a pair of RBI singles by junior first baseman Sydney Getz (Maylene, Ala.) and sophomore shortstop Kristen Landon (St. Louis, Mo.) and a two-run double off the bat of freshman left fielder Sydney Sterrett (Lafayette, Ind.). Getz singled home the tying run in the seventh, and Landon plated the go ahead run with a sacrifice fly.
Bridgewater put two runners on with one out in the seventh, but Van Dyke induced a game-ending double play.
Getz (2-for-4), Landon (2-for-3) and Sterrett (2-for-3) finished with two hits and two RBI apiece to highlight the Cougars' ten-hit attack.
Ruprecht went 3-for-3 with a walk to lead way offensively for Bridgewater State. Navarro (2-for-4), Heller (2-for-3) and sophomore DP Shannon Grindle (Halifax, Mass.) each added two hits as the Bears banged out 12 hits in the game. Navarro scored a run and drove in two.
Holt (0-4) worked six innings in the setback as she gave up three runs on six hits with six walks and a strikeout. Sophomore righty Deianeira Underhill (Rochester, Mass.) allowed three runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts in an inning of relief.
The Bears are now off until Friday, March 16th when they host a doubleheader with Clark University. Game one is slated to get underway at 3:00 PM.
Notes: Grindle batted a team-leading .520 (13-25) during the trip with three home runs, a pair of doubles, four walks, five runs scored and 11 RBI. She also posted a .586 on base percentage and a .960 slugging percentage....Mulcahy batted .364 (12-33) with a home run, a double, eight runs scored and ten RBI....The duo accounted for 21 of the team's 34 RBI....Sophomore pitcher Kaitlyn Shaw (Lakeville, Mass.) went 3-1 in the circle with 15 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings of work.