Bulldogs held scoreless by Bears before topping Bobcats, 4-1, on Friday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University softball team split games on day one of the CSUN Tournament, falling to Northern Colorado, 6-0, before topping Quinnipiac, 4-1, on Friday afternoon in California.

GAME ONE

The Bears (11-18) got off to an early start, taking a 5-0 lead through the first three innings, before tacking on one more in the sixth to claim a 6-0 victory over the Bulldogs (3-17).

In the bottom of the first, the Bears scored both runs unearned to take a 2-0 advantage. In the second with no outs and the bases load, Erica Dick knocked a two RBI single to left center to push the margin to four, 4-0. The Bulldogs escaped the inning after junior Rachel Monroe (Southwick, Mass.) turned a double play and off a ground out.

In the bottom of the third, Cheyenne Talmadge singled through the left side, plating Sophia Taylor to lift the Bears to a 5-0 lead. Three innings later, Rachel Johnson doubled to left center, scoring Kenzi Kudrna from first, leading the Bears to a 6-0 win over the Bulldogs.

Talmadge finished 2-for-2 and Kaley Garcia 2-for-3, while the Bears scored six runs off eight hits. Senior Haylee Haas (Moorpark, Calif.) finished 2-for-4, while the Bulldogs scored no runs off six hits.

Sophomore Colby Norris (Toano, Va.) remains winless in the circle, allowing six runs off eight hits and six walks in six innings. Norris finished the game with one strikeout. The Bears utilized four from their staff, but Kelli Kleis recorded the win, her first of the season, after letting up two hits, while fanning one batter.

GAME TWO

The Bulldogs (4-17) got their revenge in game two on Friday, defeating the Bobcats (6-11), 4-1, after losing to Quinnipiac, 11-3, in five innings just one week ago. The win also snapped the Bulldogs' four-game losing streak.

Quinnipiac scored its first and only run of the game in the bottom of the second after Rebecca placed the RBI single in left field.

The Black and Gold quickly drew even in the bottom of the third. With one out and the bases loaded, Abbey Long walked Monroe, allowing senior Taylor Burger (Killingworth, Conn.) to trot in from third.

The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 3-1 lead. With no outs, junior Robyn Ukegawa (Carlsbad, Calif.) scored off Long's wild pitch, taking the go-ahead run, 2-1. Later in the frame with two outs, freshman Helaina Michaud (Phoenixville, Pa.) threw on the jets, stealing home to extend Bryant's lead to two, 3-1.

The Bulldogs found their final score of the game in the bottom of the fifth, when freshman Marianna Politis (Arcadia, Calif.) scored from third off the wild pitch from Casey Herzog, allowing the Black and Gold to seal the 4-1 win over the Bobcats.

Bryant scored four runs off a season-high 10 hits, while Politis finished 2-for-4 and classmate Gabriele Ermish (Pottstown, Pa.) 2-for-3. The Bobcats tallied one run off four hits, as four different players accumulated the team's hits.

Ermish moved to .500 on the season after allowing one run off four hits, while fanning six batters. Long was dealt the loss after giving up four runs off eight hits and three walks in four innings.

The Bulldogs will get another shot at Northern Colorado tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. (ET), before facing Murray State at 7 p.m. (ET).