Bulldogs sweep Red Flash Saturday, stay atop NEC Standings

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – On the heels of yet another dominating performance from sophomore hurler Elle Madsen (Wheat Ridge, Colo.), the Bryant University softball team picked up a doubelehader sweep of Saint Francis U., Saturday afternoon in Loretto, Pa.

Game 1

A big three-run fourth inning highlighted by a Kristen Carter (Branchville, N.J.) two-run homerun propelled the Bulldogs to the 5-2 Game 1 victory.

After getting in a 2-0 hole after two innings, Bryant bounced back to score three runs in the top of fourth innings. After Madsen reached base by way of a HBP, the next two Bryant batters struggled to reach base, however freshman Taylor Burger (Killingworth, Conn.) took advantage of a Red Flash miscue, bringing home Bryant's first run of the afternoon. One batter later, Carter stepped up and blasted  atwo-run shot to left center to put the Black and Gold out front, 3-2.

The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs, one in the top of the sixth thanks to a Hayley Bottino (Canyon Country, Calif.) solo homer, and one in the top of the seventh on a Lauren Guy (La Habra, Calif.) RBI single to left center en route to the 5-2 victory.

"Elle was once again had a great performance in the circle," said Bryant head coach Shayne Lotito. "She  held offense in check and gave us an opportunity to win the game.

"Kristen [Carter] had a timely HR to give us the lead and Lauren [Guy's] RBI single in the seventh was huge."

Game 2

In the second leg of the doubleheader, it was Madsen again who shut down Saint Francis from the get-go, allowing the Bulldogs to pick-up the 3-2 win and complete the sweep.

This time was Bryant who struck first in the top of the second when Burger stole home after a Red Flash wild pitch, giving the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead. However, SFU responded, knotting the score 1-1, thanks to a Kinda Witthus RBI single.

The Red Flash took the lead in the next inning behind a Taylor Parsons RBI double to right center, scoring Samantha Thomas and putting the hosts up one, 2-1, after three.

The two teams stood scoreless for the next three innings until the Bulldogs came to bat in the top of the seventh. Sophomore Liana Ogata (Tustin, Calif.) got things started with a one-out walk, followed up by a Kendall Corder (Carmichael, Calif.) double to right center. After the second out, junior Madeline Velasquez (Los Angeles, Calif.) laced a clutch, two-run double through the left side, scoring Ogata and Corder to put the Black and Gold up, 3-2.

In the bottom of the seventh, Madsen shut down the Red Flash, retiring the hosts in order to earn her 19th victory of the season.

"Elle came out strong again," stated Lotito. "Taking care of business and giving us a chance to win in the end.

"We hit the ball hard the entire game but just struggled to find holes until the seventh inning with some clutch hits from Kendall [Corder] and Maddi [Velasquez].

With the sweep, Bryant improves to 25-17, tying the Division I program record for wins in a single season (2011). More importantly, the Bulldogs sit at 11-3, first place in the Northeast Conference standings with just a doubleheader vs. Mount St. Mary's (April 26) remaining on the conference slate.

"This is a huge way to end the weekend and puts us in good spot in the NEC standings," added Lotito. Being in first place allows us to play our game without the pressure of relying on other teams to help our own situation."

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will head home to close out the season over the next two weeks, starting with a contest vs. UConn on Tuesday (3 p.m.) at Conaty Park.

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