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The 12th ranked Division II Husky softball team improved their record to 17-3 over the past weekend at the West Virginia Wesleyan Tournament. The Huskies beat Glenville State, 2-1; Alderson-Broaddus, 6-2; West Liberty State, 11-0; and the University of Charleston, 16-4. Their sole loss over the duration of the tournament was to Fairmount State, by a final score of 5-3.
In the game against Fairmount, the Huskies opened up a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Emily Young and Mandy Leach both had superb hitting performances and contributed RBI hits for Bloomsburg. Young completed the game 3-3 with two doubles and two runs scored, while Leach was 1-3 with an RBI double. Fairmount State came back in true rally form in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the game with a two-out walk-off grand slam.
Going into Tuesday's double header against Lock Haven, Danielle Lazorka was hitting .516 with one RBI, while Lacy Mauro was batting .389 with 17 RBI. Third in batting average was Casey Massimini, hitting at .370, while Mandy Koch was fourth at .365 with 12 RBI. Combined as a team, Bloomsburg had 129 runs scored and had allowed just 42.
On the pitching end of the spectrum, Shavaun Fisher was 8-3 for the season with a 1.34 ERA. With 96 strikeouts in 73 innings of work, Fisher had walked just 21. Newcomer to the Husky mound, freshman Cait Paine is 9-0 with a 1.83 ERA. Within 57 innings of pitching, Paine has 42 strikeouts and just eight walks.
Approaching the Tuesday afternoon double header against Lock Haven, the Huskies knew they had plenty of difficult innings ahead of them. Despite the fact that Lock Haven lost a significant amount of their players, including a key pitcher, their talent was still visible.
In the opening game Fisher came in looking strong, with nice movement on the ball. In the top of the third inning, the Huskies fell behind 3-0, when the visitors got four hits and took advantage of an error.
"Bad innings happen, every pitcher has them. It's how you react and how you get out of that inning that shows what kind of pitcher you are. I can't let a little rough patch rattle me because there are 7 innings to play and every inning is a chance for our hitters to put up a couple runs. And that's exactly what they did for me, came back after that bad inning and scored runs," Fisher said.
Koch got the Huskies' heads back in the game and gave them confidence by producing a solo home run in their very next at bat. In the bottom of the fourth, the Huskies then scored four more runs to take a 5-3 lead.
In the fourth, the Huskies displayed their true hitting abilities. Leach doubled and scored on a Koch single. Koch later came in to cross the plate on a double by Lori Neyhard. Massimini then reached base on a bunt single, where Nikki Shiko proceeded to singled home two runs for the 5-3 lead.
There was another hitting explosion in the fifth inning, where the Huskies added five more runs. Emily Young smashed a homer over the right-center field fence and Neyhard also contributed with a three-run shot. Fisher once again dominated the mound by allowing just six hits, striking out 11 and walking three.
Overall, Koch was 3-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. "I think my mentality was partly responsible for my hitting today, and staying mentally relaxed helps keep my muscles loose & not tense. The key to success can be the difference between being tense and being totally loose, because your muscles work so much better and your physical abilities come naturally," said Koch.
Neyhard went 2-3 with two runs scored and four RBI. It was hitting performances such as these, and solid defense that carried over into the Huskies next game that led to yet another victory.
In game two, the Huskies were on the board in the first inning, after Shiko moved to second on a passed ball and scored when Young reached base on a fielder's choice. The Huskies added two more runs against the Lady Eagles in the second, where Mauro drove in one run with a fielder's choice.
The top of the third was a bit shaky when Lock Haven got two runs back. Yet the Huskies answered back with power and put the game out of reach for the Lady Eagles by adding seven more runs in the bottom of the third. Leach, Lazorka, and Young all contributed RBI hits, with Young driving in two runs. Lock Haven had three errors in the inning, where the Huskies capitalized on those mistakes to make it a score of 10-2.
In the top of the fourth the Lady Eagles came back to put four runs on the board, but the Huskies responded when Massimini
singled and scored on a triple by Shiko. Paine is now 10-0, as she picked up the win in game two, allowing no walks with just four hits.
The two victories gave BU an impressive 2-0 record in the PSAC Central. Koch said of the victories, "Each win gives us more confidence; it's like a domino effect. Once we win one it makes it a lot easier to win the next game because you have so much confidence in yourself and your team," continuing, "It was great though, to beat Lock Haven twice. Since I've been on the team, we've only beaten Lock Haven once before this year's season, so it was wonderful to beat them!"
Next up the Huskies travel to Mansfield on Friday, where play will start at 2:30 p.m. Here the Huskies hope to enhance their now 19-3 record.
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