Bats erupt in doubleheader sweep of Hartford

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Sophomore Gabrielle Ermish (Pottstown, Pa.) threw a complete game and the Bulldog offense erupted for eight runs off 13 hits as the Bryant University softball team completed a Sunday doubleheader sweep of the University of Hartford Hawks at the Hartford Softball Field.

GAME INFORMATION

Bryant 4, Hartford 2
Bryant 8, Hartford 7 (9 innings)

Records: Bryant (6-17), Hartford (5-10)
Location: Hartford Softball Field (West Hartford, Conn.)

W|L: Gabrielle Ermish (2-6) | Bianca Ross (2-4)
W|L: Sarah McKeveny (1-7) | Isabella Gerone (3-4)

COACH LOTITO'S COMMENTS:

"This team is extremely resilient. They work extremely hard, they're a never-give-up type of team. It was good to see, going into conference play soon, that is where they're at. We're in a good spot."

"We've had the opportunity to come back and have some practice time since Spring Break. I think going into Spring Break, we were in a good spot but it's hard to get a lot of practice while you're traveling. This past week, we put in a lot of practice and a lot of effort to get a good foundation. Going forward, we're going to do the same thing and build off of this."

"Our pitchers have faced some very, very good hitting in the past couple weeks. They've grown a lot and gotten very comfortable in tough situations. They understand the importance of minimizing baserunners and really getting in front of batters. They did really well with that today."

KEY MOMENTS (Game 1)

• Down 1-0 in the fourth inning, Bryant junior Jessica Gradillas (Nogales, Ariz.) launched a solo home run to right-center field to tie the game at one.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1)

• Hartford scraped the first run of the game in the third inning. The Hawks' Lily Sencer stole second base and kicked the ball into the outfield when she slid. Sencer got up and managed to score on the play.
• Gradillas' homer tied the game at one in the fourth inning.
• Junior Jenna Cali (Franklinville, N.J.) scored after senior Rachel Monroe (Southwick, Mass.) grounded out. Cali ran after the shortstop fired over to first, drawing an errant throw by Hartford's first baseman. Cali scored as the ball went out of the area of play.
• The Bulldogs scored two more runs in the fifth inning. With runners on second and third, Ermish lofted a fly ball into center field that was deep enough to score sophomore Helaina Michaud (Phoenixville, Pa). Junior Kaleigh Goulart (Marion, Mass.) scored on the next play after Robyn Ukegawa (Carlsbad, Calif.) reached on a fielder's choice.
• The Hawks got a run back in the sixth inning on a solo home run by Danielle Rocheleau.

STATS (Game 1)

• Ermish finished with five hits, two runs, and six strikeouts in her seven innings of work. The six strikeouts marked a new season-high.
• Cali went 2-for-3 in Sunday's first game, doubling twice.
• Gianna Pizzano (Saugus, Mass.) and Michaud also enjoyed multi-hit first games, each going 2-for-3.

KEY MOMENTS (Game 2)

• With the game tied at two, Monroe and Pizzano homered twice in three at-bats in the sixth inning. Monroe sent a line drive down the line in right field, staying just inside the foul pole. Pizzano followed with another line drive down the right-field line, but it stayed in the park. Pizzano dashed around the bases and scored for her first-career home run.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2)

• Two first-inning doubles gave Hartford an early 1-0 lead.
• Gradillas tied the game in the third inning after she lofted a fly ball into center field. Sophomore Tiffany Bell (Egg Harbor City, N.J.) scored on the play, giving Gradillas a sacrifice fly.
• Gradillas gave the Bulldogs the lead two innings later, sending the ball up the middle for an RBI single to score Goulart from third.
• Hartford tied the game at two in the bottom half of the inning. The Hawks executed a double steal with Sencer scoring from third on the play. After the run had scored, Goulart applied a tag on Hartford's Jillian Fenton, but the ball was dislodged on the play, marking the runner safe.
• Monroe and Pizzano's home runs gave Bryant a two-run lead in the sixth, but the Hawks answered back with a two-RBI single from Eliza Bomhardt in the home half of the inning.
• The game headed into extra innings knotted at four. In the eighth inning, freshman Alexandra Hickey (St. John, Ind.) smacked an RBI double to right field and scored classmate Kolby Deziel (Pasadena, Calif.), who was on second due to the international tiebreaker rule. The Bulldogs scored again after Bell singled up the middle to score freshman Gianna Ceccarelli (Claremont, Calif.).
• Hartford tied the game in the eighth with two RBI singles.
• Goulart led off the ninth inning with a double to left field, scoring Michaud from second base. Goulart herself scored after Gradillas' second sacrifice fly of the game.
• Hartford scored in the ninth, but freshman Sarah McKeveny (Bohemia, N.Y.) struck out the game's final two batters to earn the first win of her career.

STATS (Game 2)

• Eight different Bulldogs recorded hits in the second game of the doubleheader, led by Monroe's 3-for-4 afternoon.
• Goulart, Gradillas, and Bell also had multi-hit afternoons for the Black and Gold.
• Junior Colby Norris (Toano, Va.) started the game in the circle for the Bulldogs. She went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs off seven hits and striking out four.
• McKeveny pitched 3.1 innings and struck out five batters.

GAME NOTES

• The nine-inning game was the longest of the season for the Bulldogs. It was Bryant's first extra-inning affair this season.
• The 13 hits and eight runs matched season-bests for the Bulldogs. They previously achieved the feat on Feb. 21 at USF.
• Gradillas' home run in the first game was her second of the season, giving her a new career high.
• Monroe hit her first home run since March 20, 2016, against North Carolina State.
• Pizzano batted .444 over the weekend. She doubled, homered and had two singles in the Nor'easter Invitational.

UP NEXT

Bryant is next in action on Wednesday when the Bulldogs head to Holy Cross to take on the Crusaders. The game is scheduled for a 4:05 p.m. start.