COACH FULK POSTGAME COMMENTS

BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Freshman Lauren Jenkins ran her career-opening hitting streak to a dozen games, but the Bridgewater Eagles softball team stranded 16 runners on the day in a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the visiting Randolph WildCats in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) opener for the Eagles.

The loss in game one snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Eagles. 

Bridgewater (8-4, 0-2 ODAC)  limited the WildCats to just two hits but the Eagles left nine runners on the bases in a 3-1 loss in game one. The Eagles mounted a late-game rally, including a seventh-inning grand slam from the bat of Brea Hinegardner, but the Eagles fell in the nightcap by a 7-5 margin.

A leadoff walk turned into the go-ahead run for Randolph (15-6, 4-0 ODAC) in the first inning of the opener when Erin Wehrhan drew a walk to open the contest. Two batters later, Hunter Glave belted a single and Wehrhan scored all the way from first base, with the assistance of a Bridgewater error, to hand the WildCats a 1-0 lead.

The Eagles left a pair of runners on base in the first before getting on the board in the second inning. Freshman Haley Harris ripped a single to right field and moved all the way to third base on an error by the right fielder to put an early runner in scoring position. Starting pitcher Brianna Cox helped her own cause during the next at-bat with an infield single, which scored Harris, to tie the game up at a run each.

Randolph scraped out a pair of runs in the fourth, without the benefit of a base hit. Patti Vinson reached on a leadoff walk and Rachel Hickman replaced her on the base paths to give the WildCats a leadoff base runner. Hickman moved to second on a groundout and went to third with the assistance of a Bridgewater error before being sent home on a fielder's choice from the bat of Alexis Arnett to put Randolph up, 2-1. Arnett proceeded to swipe second base and Ashton Ewers, who reached base on an error earlier in the inning, scored from third to put the WildCats up, 3-1.

Cox held the Randolph lineup at bay over the remainder of the contest, allowing no hits, but the Eagles stranded five runners over the final three innings of play in a 3-1 loss.

Jenkins and senior Kasey Anderson led the way for the Eagles with two hits each in the opener as Bridgewater pounded out eight hits in game one.

Cox was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs on just two hits. The sophomore walked seven batters, which proved costly, and fanned five.

Two Randolph batters tallied a hit each in the opener and Logan Carter secured her ninth win of the year behind a complete-game effort.

Game two saw the Randolph bats come alive early, while the Eagles were relatively silent until the latter innings.

Jessica Nowak got the first inning started for the WildCats with a one-out double to center field and was driven home two batters later on a Brittany Via single to put Randolph out in front, 1-0. Hannah Cook followed with a double, scoring Via in the process, to build a 2-0 WildCats lead.

Bridgewater quickly answered with a single run in the bottom of the first. Freshman Samantha Fridley ripped a two-out single to get a base runner for the Eagles and Hinegardner reached on an error to put runners at first and second with two away. Sophomore Brooke Throckmorton followed with an infield single, scoring Fridley on the hit, to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Eagles stranded runners in the second, third and fourth innings before Randolph got back on the board in the top of the fifth. Nowak drew a one-out walk before Glave stung a pitch over the fence to extend the Randolph lead to 4-1.

The WildCats added three runs in the sixth to take a 7-1 lead into the final inning of play.

Freshman Jen Balcom singled up the middle to get the late-inning rally going for Bridgewater in the seventh prior to Jenkins stinging a single up the middle to put runners at first and second. Jenkins' seventh-inning single kept her hitting streak alive at 12 games. Fridley drew a walk to load the bases before Hinegardner blasted a grand slam over the left-field fence to trim the deficit to 7-5 with one out. The Eagles couldn't put any more runs on the board though as Hinegardner's blast was followed by a line out and a fly out to end the game, handing the WildCats a 7-5 win in game two.

Hinegardner led the way with a 2-for-4 game, including four RBI and a run scored on her seventh-inning grand slam. Karie Burgess also added two hits in the loss.

Junior Amanda Lutz was tagged with the loss after allowing two runs in four innings of action.

Randolph's 13-hit attack was led by four players with two hits each.

Hannah Winfree secured the win after allowing just one run over six innings of work.

Bridgewater is back in action on Sunday with a home doubleheader against Sweet Briar. Start time in game one is set for 2 p.m.