Bryant sweeps Red Flash

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Facing a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning, freshman Aubrey Mable (Aurora, Colo.) and junior Lindsay Martin (Methuen, Mass.) combined to deliver the two biggest hits of the afternoon, as the tandem lifted Bryant (8-11, 2-0 Northeast Conference) to a 3-2 walk-off win against Saint Francis (PA) (7-21, 0-2 NEC) in the late game, completing the Saturday sweep.

The Bulldogs took the first contest, 4-2, and remain a perfect 4-0 against the Red Flash in the past two seasons.

Down by one with two outs remaining in the second game, Mable stepped up to the plate and delivered in the clutch with a triple to right field, setting up the game-tying run. One out later, Mable would cross home in dramatic fashion on a wild pitch to tie things up, 2-2.

Christina Eringis (Tewskbury, Mass.) would then work the count and reach base on balls and advance to second on a single by junior Lauren McCart (Voorhees, N.J.), her second hit in the outing. Down 0-1 in the count, Martin belted a frozen rope to the right field gap, driving home the game- winning run and giving the Bulldogs the 3-2 walk-off win.

Sophomore Brittany Hart (North Andover, Mass.) took the circle for the Black and Gold and pitched a gem against Saint Francis (PA), allowing just two earned runs in 7.0 innings of work. Hart retired the side in the first two innings and only allowed one hit through the first three innings. Her counterpart, Michele Andrews, only managed to go 2.1 before giving way to Michelle Spisak who took her third loss of the season.

The Bulldogs stayed within striking distance of the Red Flash, thanks in large part to a phenomenal defensive play by the home side late in the game.  With a runner on second, Saint Francis' Ashley Thomas hit what seemed to be a RBI double to right field but McCart threw a solid toss to Bowen, the cutoff, who then fired a laser to Corder who was able to tag the runner in a play at the plate, keeping the difference at one.

Bowen picked up her fourth home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the third and finished the day 2-for-3 at the plate. Bryant finished with seven hits in the outing with McCart, Martin, Mable and Corder each with at least one.

In the early game, solid pitching and clutch hitting proved to be the difference for the Bulldogs, as the home side took the first head-to-head, 4-2.

Saint Francis (PA) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on two hits in the top half of the second inning, but that was all the offensive production allowed by Bryant starting pitcher Samantha Houseal (Mount Joy, Pa.), who went the complete game. Houseal finished the outing with six strike outs and issued just five hits with two walks mixed in to the senior's fourth win of the season.

Bryant erased the 2-0 deficit in the bottom of third with two runs of its own on the bats of Mable and Corder, who each drove home a run to tie the score, 2-2.

The Bulldogs would add two more in the fifth frame as Kristen Carter (Branchville, N.J.) reached base on a single and Mable was walked to first, setting up Corder, who punched a two-run single to the left side of the diamond.

Those two runs would be all Houseal needed, as the Pennsylvania native turned off the lights and shutout the visiting side for the next two innings for the 4-2 victory.

Saturday's sweep marked the third-straight win for the Bulldogs and the sixth victory in the last seven outings.

The Bulldogs will return to action Sunday for a Northeast Conference doubleheader at home against Wagner College. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. and fans can follow live stats at www.bryantbulldogs.com.