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Box Score 2 VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - In a Sunday afternoon twinbill at Virginia Wesleyan, the Bridgewater Eagles softball team lost the first game of the day in shutout fashion before avenging the game one defeat with a 7-5 win in game two to earn a split against the Marlins.
Bridgewater picked up its 20th victory of the season with the victory in game two.
In the first game, the two teams locked up in a pitcher's duel with the game remaining scoreless through four-and-a-half innings.
Virginia Wesleyan got on the board in the bottom of the fifth off of a Brenae Pettit single, which plated two runs to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead after five.
Both teams were held in check over the final two innings as the Marlins earned a 2-0 win in the opener.
At the plate, senior Drew Rutledge paced the Eagles offense with a 2-for-3 game.
In the circle, Heather Jenkins picked up her first loss in 11 appearances after allowing two runs on four hits.
Virginia Wesleyan was led offensively in the opener by a quartet of players with a hit each, while Mackenzie Creech earned the shutout win in the circle. Creech went the distance allowing five Bridgewater hits while striking out six.
In the nightcap, Bridgewater got on the board in the first when junior Hillary Rees scored on an Emily Morris single to put the Eagles up 1-0.
Following a scoreless second inning, the Eagles padded their lead with a four-run third off of a pair of homeruns, to take a 5-0 lead over the Marlins.
Jenkins led off the top of the third with a blast to left field to extend the lead to 2-0, before Morris added another RBI single to score Rees, pushing the Bridgewater advantage to 3-0.
Senior Lauren Childress drilled a ball over the left center field fence, scoring Morris in the process, pushing Bridgewater to a 5-0 lead.
Virginia Wesleyan answered in the home half of the frame with two runs of its own to cut Bridgewater's lead to 5-2 after three frames.
After a scoreless fourth inning, sophomore Leigh Lam knocked in a run off of a sacrifice fly to put the Eagles up 6-2, before Bridgewater pushed its lead to 7-2 off of a Lam double in the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Marlins used a three-RBI triple to cut the Bridgewater lead to 7-5 before relief pitcher Amber Marstin forced the final batter into a pop up to end the game giving the Eagles a 7-5 victory.
Childress' 2-for-3 outing in the nightcap led the way for the Bridgewater offense, while Aven Thomas picked up the win in the circle.
Virginia Wesleyan was led offensively by seven players with a hit each.
The Eagles, 20-7 overall and 10-4 in conference play are back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Emory & Henry for a rescheduled game from earlier in the season against the Wasps.
