Touch 'em all! Burdo lifts Bryant to sweep

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior third baseman Regina Burdo (Wayne, Pa.) hit her first career home run and added a second long ball in the late game, as the Bryant University softball kept rolling with a sweep over the University at Albany in the Tuesday afternoon doubleheader.

The Bulldogs (12-11) took the first head-to-head, 8-0, in five innings of play before pulling out a 5-2 victory over the Great Danes (5-13 America East) in the second of the twinbill, as the Black and Gold recorded a season-best seventh win in a row.

Burdo, Aubrey Mable (Aurora, Colo.), Lauren McCart (Voorhees, N.J.) and Talia Zizza(Reading, Mass.) each recorded  a homer in the two-game set, with Burdo hitting one in each outing.

Mable ignited the offense in game one with a solo home run in the bottom of the first, her second this season, to give the home side a 1-0 lead.

That one run is all starting pitcher Samantha Houseal (Mount Joy, Pa.) needed to take care of the Great Danes' lineup, holding the visiting side to a mere three hits and two walks over 5.0 innings of work. The right handed pitcher dealt seven strikeouts and picked up her fourth win in as many starts.

McCart opened the bottom of the second with her first homer of the season, and added her second RBI of the contest in the bottom of the fourth with a frozen rope to left field. Christina Eringis (Tewksbury, Mass.) would chip in with a sacrifice fly to left field, giving Bryant the 3-0 edge after three.

The Bulldogs lineup opened up the lead by two more in the bottom of the fourth, as Burdo recorded her first home run in a Bryant softball uniform.  The third baseman's two-run shot gave the home side a 7-0 cushion allowing Houseal (6-5) to close the door in the top of the fifth.

Eringis' RBI double to right field in the top of the fifth would give Bryant the necessary eight runs to take the five-inning victory.

In the late game UAlbany would be the ones who took an early 2-0 lead on two hits and two errors by the Bryant defensive lineup. The Great Danes' lead would be short-lived as Burdo responded with the long ball in the bottom half of the second, knocking a three-run home run over the fence to give the hosts a 3-2 lead.

After allowing two hits in the second inning, starting pitcher Brittany Hart (North Andover, Mass.) would start to hit the corners, shutting out the Great Danes for the remainder of the game. The righty would finish her sixth win with three strikeouts and zero earned runs.

Zizza's solo home run to right field in the bottom of the fourth, her third of the season, would push the lead up to two. Burdo would add an insurance run and her fourth RBI of the game in the bottom of the sixth with a single down the left field line, lifting the Bulldogs to a 5-2 lead.

Hart (6-4) would retire the side in the bottom of the seventh, as the Black and Gold swept their fourth-straight doubleheader in the past 10 days.

With the win, Bryant softball has moved above .500 for the first time since opening day and has set a new program-record for wins on the Division I level (12).

The Bulldogs return to action Sunday, April 3 with a trip to Northeast Conference foe Fairleigh Dickinson. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 12 p.m. and fans can check results at www.bryantbulldogs.com.