Eringis' homer helps Bulldogs split

Three-run Eringis homer propels Bulldogs to win in Game 1, SFU earns split in Game 2

LORETTO, Pa. – Trailing by two runs in the top of the seventh inning, the Bryant University softball team rallied for three runs to take a 6-4 lead before Saint Francis (PA) drew even in the bottom of the seventh, and that prompted a game-winning, unearned run in the top of the eighth, allowing the Bulldogs to come away with an 8-7, extra-inning victory over the Red Flash before the home team split the afternoon with a 7-3 win in the late game on Sunday at Red Flash Field.

Finishing their weekend trip in western Pennsylvania an even 2-2, the Bulldogs move to 12-19 on the season with an even 5-5 mark in Northeast Conference play, while the Red Flash improve to 17-21 and 6-8 in league play.

Four different Bulldogs hit home runs for the visitors in Game 1, as sophomores Taylor Bell (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and Kendall Corder (Carmichael, Calif.) went yard in back-to-back at-bats in the top of the fifth, and senior Laura Bowen (Hudson, Mass.) smashed another solo shot to start Bryant's two-run inning in the top of the sixth.

Christina Eringis (Tewksbury, Mass.) owned the most important blast of the day, as the junior ripped a pinch-hit, three-run homer to put the Bulldogs ahead by a run that proved to be valuable in the top of the seventh.

Junior hurler Jennifer Jacob (Deer Park, N.Y.) was awarded with her seventh victory of the season to improve to 7-13, as the right-hander entered in the bottom of the sixth inning and pitched 2 and 1/3 frames of one-run, one-hit ball to pick up the victory. Classmate Brittany Hart (North Andover, Mass.) started for the Bulldogs in Game 1 and yielded four earned runs on 11 hits while striking out a batter and allowing one walk.

The visitors got to Red Flash starter Chelsea Rex (5-10) for all eight runs – six earned – over 7 and 1/3 innings. Rex let up 11 hits while striking out six and walking four before reliever Megan Layne retired the Bulldogs in the top of the eighth and finished with a strikeout.

Bell would finish the first contest with a side-high two hits (2-for-4) with a run scored and one driven in, while Eringis' homer drove in a team-high three RBI.

Down by a run in the fifth, the Bulldogs started the back-and-forth affair with two scores in the top of the frame by means of Corder and Bell going yard in consecutive plate appearances. SFU would go up by two runs with a pair in the end of the fifth to take a 4-2 lead heading to the last two innings.

In the top of the sixth, Bowen's blast proved pivotal at the start of the inning before sophomore Aubrey Mable (Aurora, Colo.) came in to score on a Red Flash error to tie the match at 4-all. But the home side responded with two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on two hits while benefiting from two Bulldog errors, making it a 6-4 Saint Francis lead entering the seventh.

That cued up Eringis' heroics, as the junior infielder ripped a shot to left center that cleared the wall with two outs and two runners on, handing the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the seventh. A leadoff walk proved to be costly, however, as the Red Flash sent the game into extras after the tying run scored on a passed ball.

But in the top of the eighth, the Bulldogs got a break as sophomore pinch runner Kristen Carter (Branchville, N.J.) scored the decisive run on a passed ball third strike, and Jacob set down Saint Francis in the end of the eighth to secure the win for the Bulldogs.

In the late game, the Red Flash took a commanding 5-0 lead after scoring three runs in the bottom of the first and one each in the fourth and the fifth, and that advantage proved to be insurmountable as the Bulldogs fell by a 7-3 margin.

Jacob earned the start in Game 2 and yielded five earned runs in six innings while striking out three and walking eight batters. Her counterpart, Brooke Koch (7-4), earned the win by allowing one earned run over six innings while striking out two and walking three over that span.

Junior outfielder Kate Murray (Fitchburg, Mass.) led the Bulldogs with a 2-for-4 showing at the plate in the second contest while driving in a run, while Bowen drove in a second run for the visitors in a losing effort.

After a day off, the Bulldogs get right back to work with a non-conference battle at home against intrastate rival Providence College on Tuesday, April 17. First pitch at the Bryant Softball Complex at Conaty Park is set for 4 p.m.

For continuing coverage of Bryant University softball, check back online at www.bryantbulldogs.com; also follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.