Bryant Softball Swept by Florida Southern, 5-1 and 7-3

Florida Southern Sweeps Bulldogs Doubleheader, 5-1 and 7-3

March 13, 2008

Lakeland, Fla.- Lakeland, Fla. - Florida Southern took a pair of games from the Bryant Bulldogs Thursday night by scores of 5-1 and 7-3. The two losses drop the Bulldogs' record to 0-4 on the young season.

The Bulldogs were plagued by missed opportunities all night. They left seven runners on base in game one (including six in the final four innings and four in scoring position), and five more in the nightcap. In game two, costly errors and misplayed sunk the Bulldogs who allowed six runs with two outs.

In game, Florida Southern starter Brittany Minton shut down the Bulldogs' offense as the Moccasins handed the Bulldogs a 5-1 loss.  Minton (9-1) entered the game with a 0.21 ERA.

Freshman Samantha Houseal (Mount Joy, PA) (0-2) went the distance for the Bulldogs allowing 5 runs (3 earned) in her second career start.

The Mocs struck in the first inning when Elli Howell dropped a soft line drive just out of the reach of second baseman Jennifer Serrano (Wareham, Mass.) to score Michelle Tatlock. An inning later, the Mocs moved the lead to 2-0 on an RBI double by Peggy Alex. Howell finished the game 2 of 3 with an RBI.

The Moccasins added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Bulldogs were able to push across a run in the seventh off reliever Morgan Brown when Kristina Kyzer (Boxborough, Mass.) (pinch-running for Ashley Coon (Levittown, PA)) scored on an error by Brown.

Coach Lisa-Ann Wallace used mass substitutions in the game, with every player on the roster except Alexandra Pearson (North Dighton, Mass.) and game two starting pitcher Janine Enos (Wareham, Mass.). Freshmen Kyzer, Renee Chapman (Fairfax, CA), and Jessica Mulvihill (Worcester, Mass.) saw the first action of their college career. Sophomore Liz Roy (Manchester, NH) got her first career hit, a pinch-hit single in the fifth inning.

The second game of the night was a tight pitching match between Enos and Heidi Schumacher, until the Mocs broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. With runners on second and third and two outs, Angela Williams topped a ball back to Enos, who looked home before throwing late to first. Wiliams proceeded to get in a run down that scored another run after an errant throw from Chapman that left Williams at third and the score 4-0. Two more hits and two Bulldog errors brought in three more runs, all with two outs in the inning.

The Mocs jumped on Bryant ace Enos (0-2) in game two, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning. The Bulldogs avoided further damage when a long drive by Angela Williams hopped over the fence for an RBI double. However, the play likely would have been a triple that scored an additional runner if it had stayed in the field of play.

The Bulldogs mounted a rally in the top of the sixth, pushing across two runs but stranded two more at second and third. The Bulldogs tacked on another run in the seventh.

The Bulldogs return to action Friday night with a doubleheader with Hillsdale to be played at Barnett Field on the campus of Florida Southern College. The first game will start at 5:00pm. Live stats will be available at BryantBulldogs.com.