Softball closes Yale Invite with two wins Sunday afternoon

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Behind a five-hit afternoon from senior catcher Kendall Corder (Carmichael, Calif.), the Bryant University softball team picked up a pair of wins on Day 2 of the Yale Invitational, topping Boston University, 7-5, in Game 1 before defeating Yale, 6-4, in dramatic fashion in Game 2, Sunday in Fairfield, Conn.

Game 1

In the first leg of Sunday's doubleheader, Corder collected four hits and scored a pair of runs and classmate Aubrey Mable (Aurora, Colo.) added two hits and four RBI in a huge 7-5 win over the Terriers.

After taking a 5-0 lead through five and half innings thanks to a three-run shot by Mable in the top of the third, the Terriers scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to knot the score heading into the final two innings of play.

In the top of the sixth, Corder collected her fourth hit of the game, doubling to right center to get things started for the Bulldogs. One batter later, Mable doubled down the left-field line, scoring Corder, and giving Bryant a one-run edge with one out. After the second out, freshman Elle Madsen (Wheat Ridge, Colo.) helped herself, sending a double to center field, scoring Mable to push the lead to two runs, 7-5.

Madsen took care of the rest, retiring six-straight Terriers to give Bryant the Game 1 victory. In all, Madsen allowed five runs on nine hits to go along with five Ks in seven innings of work in the circle.

Game 2

In Game 2, Madsen blasted a two-out, two-run walk off homerun over the left field wall to give Bryant the dramatic 6-4 win over Yale.

The Black and Gold scored four times in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a three-run homerun from sophomore Hayley Bottino (Canyon Country, Calif.) to take a commanding 4-0 lead over the host Bulldogs.

Yale only mustered one run in the first four innings, unable to crack sophomore pitcher Katelin Saunders (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) until partway through the fifth where the added two more to cut the lead down to one run, 4-3, after five. Yale went on to knot the score, 4-4, in the top of the seventh before Madsen's late-game heroics in the bottom half on the inning clinched a perfect 2-0 day for the Black and Gold.

Saunders was solid in the start, allowed three runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings of work. Bottino allowed just one run on three hits in 1.2 innings in the circle, but it was Madsen, who relieved Bottino with one out in the top of the seventh inning, who picked up her seventh victory of the year.

The Bulldogs, winners of seven of their last nine, will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Boston University in Smithfield. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.

For all the latest news on the Bryant University softball team, visit BryantBulldogs.com.