Bulldogs split with NEC-leader CCSU Sunday in New Britain

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University softball team capped off a big weekend in Northeast Conference play, splitting with NEC-leader Central Connecticut, Sunday afternoon in New Britain, Conn.

GAME 1

After six scoreless innings, freshman catcher Robyn Ukegawa (Carlsbad, Calif.) broke the tie with a leadoff homerun  over the left field fence in the top of the seventh inning to help the Bulldogs (15-27, 6-6 Northeast Conference) knock off the Blue Devils (23-8, 9-1 NEC), 1-0, in the first leg on Sunday's doubleheader.

It was a pitcher's duel between reigning NEC Player of the Year Elle Madsen (Wheat Ridge, Colo.) and reigning NEC Pitcher of the Year Laura Messina as the two were nearly perfect throughout the contest, but it was Ukegawa who emerged as the Game 1 hero with her solo shot in the top of the seventh.

Madsen, who improved to 9-14 on the year with her third-straight win, threw a shutout, allowing just seven hits and a walk to go along with four strikeouts while Messina allowed the lone run on six hits with a dozen Ks.

Bryant junior second baseman Liana Ogata (Tustin, Calif.) accounted for two of her team's six hits while sophomore right fielder Taylor Burger (Killingworth, Conn.) went 1-for-3 with a double.

GAME 2

The second game of the double dip sang a different tune for the Bulldogs as CCSU hung four runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth to coast to the 7-1 victory.

The hosts got to Madsen early, scoring four runs in the first (two earned) behind four hits and an untimely Bulldog miscue. After the first however, the Black and Gold settled down on the defensive end, holding CCSU scoreless through four and a half thanks to some quality relief innings from junior Hayley Bottino (Canyon Country, Calif.). But in the fifth, the hosts tacked on three more runs to push the margin to 7-0 after five.

The Bulldogs' lone run came in the top of the sixth when freshman Maritza Martinez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) led off the inning with a pinch-hit double to right field. After a Madeline Velasquez (Los Angeles, Calif.) fly ball to right moved pinch-runner Haylee Haas (Moorpark, Calif.) over to third, Ogata capped off her big weekend with an RBI single to left-center to plate Haas.

However it was not enough, as Messina stymied the Bryant lineup for the second-straight game, allowing the lone run on four hits to go with four strikeouts.

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will break from NEC play for a single-game showdown at Harvard on Tuesday before wrapping up league play with DH's at LIU Brooklyn on Saturday and vs. Saint Francis U. on Sunday for Senior Day.