Bulldogs hit five homers but cant slow down Friars Tuesday in Providence

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Despite belting five homeruns, the Bryant University softball team fell to Providence College, 9-6, Tuesday afternoon

After falling behind on a Nadia Kemp double to right in the bottom of the first inning, the Bulldogs answered back to knot the score in the third thanks to a Mallory Harrigan (Albany, N.Y.) solo shot to left. The Friars regained the one-run edge, 2-1, in the bottom half of the inning when a bases loaded walk brought home Kristie Dederick.

However, the real fireworks didn't begin until the fourth inning when the two teams combined for four homeruns and 10 total runs. In the top half of the inning, junior Hayley Bottino (Canyon Country, Calif.) got things going with a solo homer to right-center to tie the score once again, 2-2, only to be followed by a blast from Taylor Burger (Killingworth, Conn.), her fifth HR in as many games, to give Bryant its first lead of the day. Three batters later, freshman catcher Cassie Mejia (Tucson, Ariz.) capped off the big inning for the Black and Gold with a two-run long ball over the left field fence to push the margin to three runs, 5-2.

In the bottom of the fourth, PC answered right back, first with a Paige Mulry two-run homer to right, before three-straight infield groundballs resulted in four more runs to hand the hosts the 8-5 edge. Dederick kept it rolling for the Friars in the bottom of the fifth, sending a solo blast to center to widen the gap to four runs, 9-5.

Senior first baseman Jessica Benacquista (Belleville, N.J.) continued her strong play as of late, blasting a homerun to center in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to just three runs, 9-6. However, it was not enough as the Friars outslugged the Bulldogs for the in-state victory.

The Bulldogs will wrap up the regular season at home on Thursday when they welcome Boston College for a 4 p.m. showdown.