McKeveny fans six, but Bulldogs fall to top-ranked Washington on Wednesday

SEATTLE, Wash. – Freshman Sarah McKeveny (Bohemia, N.Y.) struck out six batters in relief, but the Bryant University softball team fell to the top-ranked Washington Huskies, 7-0, Wednesday night at the Husky Softball Stadium in Seattle.

GAME INFORMATION

#1 Washington 7, Bryant 0

Records: Bryant (4-11), Washington (28-0)
Location: Husky Softball Stadium (Seattle, Wash.)
W|L: Kristin Cochran (1-0) | Gabrielle Ermish (1-4)

COACH LOTITO'S COMMENTS:

"I'm really proud of the way the team came out. They played fearless, aggressive, clean and they looked comfortable and like they belonged out there against the number one team in the country. Seeing the team shine was awesome.

"Our pitchers did an absolutely unreal job of keeping Washington's hitters off-balanced. They went out there and shut them out for a few innings at a time and looked confident and comfortable."

"Sarah did a great job coming in with runners on and staying calm. From when she pitched against Oregon to pitching against Washington, she looked a lot more comfortable and settled in on the mound which is exactly what we want to see from a freshman."

KEY MOMENT

• Washington's Taylor Van Zee belted a two-run homer with one out in the third inning to put Washington on the board.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Freshman Morgan Powell (Murrieta, Calif.) registered the first hit of the game on a bunt single to the third baseman with two outs in the third inning.
• Van Zee's home run gave Washington the first runs of the ballgame, putting the Huskies up 2-0. Washington would score two more runs in the inning on an RBI single from Kirstyn Thomas and run-scoring double off the bat of Maggie Gallagher.
• McKeveny threw two blank innings in the fourth and fifth for the Bulldogs, recording three strikeouts over the two frames.
• With one out in the sixth inning, freshman Gianna Ceccarelli (Pasadena, Calif.) delivered a pinch-hit single up the middle.
• Washington scored again in the sixth on a pair of RBI singles and a sacrifice fly to right field.

STATS

• Despite getting pegged with the loss, sophomore Gabrielle Ermish (Pottstown, Pa.) kept the Huskies scoreless over the first two innings.
• Sophomores Kaleigh Goulart (Marion, Mass.) and Marianna Politis (Arcadia, Calif.) each reached base via walk.

GAME NOTES

• McKeveny's six strikeouts tied a career-high. She also struck out six versus Fordham earlier in the season.
• The Black and Gold are now 0-1 all-time against Washington. Wednesday marked the first meeting between the two schools.
• Bryant has now played three members of the Pac-12 this season. The Bulldogs played Arizona in the season's opening weekend and played Oregon last weekend.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs stay in Seattle and will next play in the Seattle U Invite. Bryant will take on Portland State twice and Seattle U three times in a three-day, five-game tournament hosted by the Redhawks. The Black and Gold first take on Portland State Friday at 4:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. Pacific).