BULLDOGS DROP TWO AT SACRED HEART IN FINAL ROAD SERIES OF THE 2010 SEASON
May 01, 2010
BULLDOGS DROP TWO AT SACRED HEART IN FINAL ROAD SERIES OF THE 2010 SEASON
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Playing in its last away series of the 2010 campaign, the Bryant University softball team was unable to upset Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon. The fifth-place Pioneers dropped the Bulldogs 4-2 in the first game and took the nightcap by a slim 1-0 margin.
Bryant (8-35, 4-14 NEC) outhit the Pioneers (23-24, 10-6 NEC) by a margin of 9-6 in the opener Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Park but could not plate the runners as they left 10 on base.
The Bulldogs jumped out to the early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as senior captain Ali Chouinard (Swansea, Mass.) hit a single to second base with two outs. Freshman Brittany Lischinsky (Mahopac, N.Y.) followed the shortstop with a walk to put runners on first and second with two outs. Senior tri-captain Ashley Coon (Levittown, Pa.) got off to a good start on Saturday as she roped a single to right field to plate her fellow captain and give her squad a 1-0 lead.
The lead didn’t last long for Coon and the Bulldogs as
Sacred Heart picked up two of their own in the bottom of the first
frame. The Pioneers got some help from junior pitcher Sami
Houseal (Mount Joy, Pa.), who walked two and was called
for an illegal pitch in the inning, as they took over the lead,
2-1.
The hot-hitting Laura Bowen (Hudson, Mass.) helped level the score in the top of the second when she knocked in centerfielder Lindsay Martin (Methuen, Mass.) for her team-leading 17th RBI of the season. Martin reached base on a double to left center, her only hit of the game.
Sacred Heart’s Jen Russell and Bryant’s Houseal continued their strong outings on the mound as they kept the game level at two apiece for the next three innings.
The Pioneers finally got to Houseal and the Bulldogs in the bottom of the fifth inning with two runs on two hits and one error committed by BU.
Russell and SHU would hold off Bryant for the next two innings to win their 22nd game of the season by a margin of 4-2. Russell pitched a complete-game, allowed nine hits and struck out six in the outing.
The Black and Gold outhit the Pioneers by a margin of 9-6 in game one. Coon hit three singles to go 3-4 with an RBI in the contest while Chouinard and Bowen each had two hits.
Sacred Heart’s Nicole Sidor shut down the Bulldogs in the nightcap, throwing a complete-game two-hitter. Sidor walked one and struck out nine as she picked up her eighth win of the season.
Bryant’s Jen Jacob (Deer Park, N.Y.) pitched six innings, allowing four hits, walking two and striking out four as the Pioneers went on to win by a slim, 1-0 margin.
The game-winning hit came in the bottom of the sixth inning on a Courtney Lee RBI triple.
Coon and Bowen continued their good days as they each picked one hit in the contest. The two combined to go 7-13 on the afternoon. Bowen had two doubles while Coon hit four singles.
The Black and Gold are scheduled for a make-up doubleheader with the Monmouth Hawks sometime on Mother’s Day Weekend. Be sure to check out bryantbulldogs.com for more details on that series, which will wrap-up the 2010 campaign.