Mocs take early lead, defeat Bulldogs, 5-2, in game one at Citrus Classic 2

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University softball team kicked off its five-game tournament in Orlando, Fla. at the Citrus Classic 2 with a hard-fought battle, in which the Bulldogs were defeated by Chattanooga, 5-2.

After one and a half scoreless innings, the Mocs (6-9) took a 1-0 edge over the Bulldogs (1-5) in the bottom of the second. Freshman Gabrielle Ermish (Pottstown, Pa.) walked lead-off batter Jesslyn Stockard, before striking out Amanda Beltran swinging. Brook Womack, the next batter, bunted up the third base line, allowing Stockard to reach second. Emma Sturdivant then loaded the bases off a single up the middle.

With one out and the bases loaded, Alyssa Coppinger reach on fielder's choice, as junior shortstop Rachel Monroe (Southwick, Mass.) threw Womack out at third, while Stockard scored from third to lift the Mocs to a 1-0 advantage.

After the Bulldogs left five batters on base through the first three innings, the Mocs capitalized, as Beltran drilled a two-run double to right field with two outs, plating Walker and Hamill for a three-run lead in the bottom of the third.

The Bulldogs found an answer in the following inning, narrowing the gap to two, 3-1. Sophomore Jessica Gradillas (Nogales, Ariz.) led off with a single up the middle, before she was replaced by freshman Tiffany Bell (Egg Harbor City, N.J.) at first. Monroe reach first off a bunt that also advanced Bell to second. Junior Gianna Pizzano (Saugus, Mass.) then reach on fielder's choice as Payten Price committed a fielding error. With one out and the bases loaded, senior Haylee Haas (Moorpark, Calif.) drove in Bell from third off the RBI single to center field. The Mocs escaped the inning, following a Bryant strikeout out and ground out.

The Bulldogs turned an impressive double play to get out of the fourth unscathed, as senior Lauren Keast (Holliston, Mass.) fielded Hamill's fly ball, before throwing home where junior Robyn Ukegawa (Carlsbad, Calif.) tagged out Coppinger to end the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth with runners on first and third, red-shirt sophomore Brandi Burgin (Santa Clarita, Calif.) checked in for Ermish in the circle. Burgin struck out her first matchup, swinging. With one out and runners on second and third, Coppinger singled through the left side, plating Amy Lewis from third to push the margin back to three, 4-1. Two batters later, Hamill hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, allowing Womack to trot in for the 5-1 advantage.

Haas and Keast both reached base off singles in the top of the seventh. Ermish then reached on fielder's choice, as Haas advanced to third and Keast was thrown out at second. With one out, Ermish took off, stealing second, as Haas scored from third off the throwing error by the catcher to pull Bryant within three, 5-2. The Mocs went on to capture the win, 5-2, after ending the game with back-to-back outs.

The Bulldogs totaled six hits, as Haas went a season-best 3-for-4, including an RBI and a scored run. The Mocs put together nine hits, as Hayleigh Weissenbach and Womack went a team-best 2-for-3 on the day. Following the loss, Ermish moved to 1-2 on the season, allowing five runs off eight hits in 5.0 innings. Burgin allowed a singles hit in 1.0 inning, as both Bryant pitchers fanned one batter each. Price pitched all seven innings, allowing two runs off six hits, while accumulating five strikeouts, as she moved to 4-7 on the season.

The Black and Gold have little downtime, as they gear up to take on Purdue, tonight at 5:45 p.m.