Bryant falls to Weber State, No. 6 Oregon in final day of Oregon Invitational

EUGENE, Ore. – Gabrielle Ermish went a combined 3-for-5 and threw a complete game, but the Bryant University softball team fell in a doubleheader on Saturday to close out the Oregon Invitational. The Bulldogs fell to Weber State in the morning and then fell to sixth-ranked Oregon in the afternoon.

GAME INFORMATION

Weber State 4, Bryant 3 (Gm 1)
#6 Oregon 17, Bryant 1 (Gm 2)

Records: Bryant (4-10), Weber State (12-13), Oregon (22-4)
Location: Jane Sanders Stadium (Eugene, Ore.)

W|L|S (Gm 1): Kirtlyn Bohling (4-5) | Gabrielle Ermish (0-3) | Kate Donaldson (1)
W|L|S (Gm 2): Maggie Balint (6-1) | Sarah McKeveny (0-4)

KEY MOMENTS (Gm 1)

• Up 3-2 in the third inning, Weber State's Ashlyn Visser singled to score Brinkerhoff from second base.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Gm 1)

• Weber State got on the board with three runs in the first inning. Visser reached on an infield single to drive in a run, while a fly out in foul territory scored a runner from third.
• The Bulldogs answered back with two runs in the second. Freshman Alexandra Hickey (St. John, Ind.) and junior Jessica Gradillas (Nogales, Ariz.) started the inning off with singles. After sophomore Nicole Davis (Toms River, N.J.) pinch-ran for Hickey, freshman Morgan Powell (Murrieta, Calif.) reached on a defensive miscue to score Davis. Junior Kaleigh Goulart (Marion, Mass.) grounded out to second, but deep enough to score Gradillas from third.
• Visser's RBI single in the third inning doubled the Wildcat lead to give them a 4-2 advantage.
• In the fifth inning, junior Jenna Cali (Franklinville, N.J.) laced a single in to left field to score Powell to bring the game within a run.

STATS (Gm 1)

• Sophomore Gabrielle Ermish (Pottstown, Pa.) was pegged with the loss, but had a great outing for the Bulldogs. Ermish threw six innings, allowed seven hits and four runs (two earned). She struck out three batters. Offensively, Ermish went 2-for-4 at the plate.
• Gradillas had two hits and scored a run for the Black and Gold.
• Powell's RBI in the second inning was the first of her career.

KEY MOMENTS (Gm 2)

• In the second inning, Oregon's Cherish Burks delivered a three-run home run to right center field to put Oregon out in front, 4-0.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Gm 2)

• The Ducks' Shannon Rhodes singled to right field to score the game's first run in the first inning.
• Burks' home run in the second was a part of a 13-run second inning for Oregon.
• The Ducks' April Utecht homered to left field in the third.
• Bryant scored its run after Cali reached on a fielder's choice. Oregon cut down the lead runner at the plate, but an errant throw looking for a double-play allowed senior Gianna Pizzano (Saugus, Mass.) to score. Senior Robyn Ukegawa (Carlsbad, Calif.) walked to load the bases before Cali scored Pizzano.
• The Ducks scored two runs in the fourth before Bryant retired two-consecutive batters to end the inning.

STATS (Gm 2)

• Freshman Gianna Ceccarelli (Claremont, Calif.) singled for her first-career hit. She and Ermish each had hits for the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.
• Ukegawa reached via the walk in the fourth.

GAME NOTES

• 2,069 fans were in attendance on Sunday. It was the second-largest crowd Bryant has played in front of this season, with the Feb. 18 game against Arizona being the highest (2,115).
• Oregon came into Sunday as the sixth-ranked team in the country. The Ducks were the second nationally-ranked team Bryant has taken on in 2018, with Arizona again being the first.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs stay in the Beaver State for a doubleheader on Tuesday with the Portland State Vikings. The first game is slated to start at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific.