Black and Gold fall to Matadors on Day 1 of CSUN Tournament

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Despite another strong outing at the dish and in the circle from junior Elle Madsen (Wheat Ridge, Colo.), the Bryant University softball team fell to Cal State Northridge, 5-3, Thursday evening on Day 1 of the CSUN Tournament.

After falling behind 3-2 in the bottom of the third inning, the Bulldogs (5-15) came back to knot the score, 3-3, in the fourth before two Matador (19-7) runs in the bottom of the sixth sealed the 5-3 win for the hosts.

After struggling at the plate over the last few games, the Black and Gold got off to a strong start in the top of the first after a Mollie Anderson (East Greenwich, R.I.) single set up Madsen for the two-run homerun to left, granting Bryant the early 2-0 lead.

Madsen went on to hold the Matadors scoreless through two innings until the hosts broke through for three runs in the bottom of the third to take the 3-2 edge. Finding themselves in the hole, the Bulldogs quickly responded in the form of a Liana Ogata (Tustin, Calif.) RBI single up the middle to score Gianna Pizzano (Saugus, Mass.) and knot the score, 3-3 after four.

The score remained tied through five and a half innings until a sacrifice fly and a solo homer pushed two more runs across for Cal State Northridge for the eventual 5-3 victory.

In the circle, Madsen allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits in six innings of work, while Ogata and Madsen combined for four of Bryant's six hits on the offensive end.

The Black and Gold will look to snap their nine-game skid on Day 2 in Northridge when they battle Iona (2 p.m. EST) and Buffalo (4:30 p.m. EST) on Friday.