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Box Score 2 BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater Eagles softball team moved one step closer to earning a spot in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament after pounding out 21 hits in a doubleheader sweep of Randolph-Macon on Saturday afternoon at the BC Softball Field.
Bridgewater (18-11-1, 8-7-1 ODAC) took home the opener behind an 8-3 victory before rolling up a 5-1 victory in the nightcap to post the team's first doubleheader sweep since March 23.
The Eagles held the Yellow Jackets scoreless in the top of the first in game one before the Eagles tallied two runs in the home half of the inning to run out to a 2-0 lead. Kasey Anderson opened the inning with a single through the left side and Karie Burgess reached on an error and moved to second on the play which also allowed Anderson to move to third. Lauren Jenkins followed with a single up the middle, scoring Anderson to put Bridgewater up, 1-0. Brianna Cox helped her own cause and rounded out the scoring with a single to shortstop which scored Burgess to push the advantage to 2-0.
Randolph-Macon (17-9, 9-7 ODAC) looked to answer in the top of the second as the Yellow Jackets loaded the bases. The Yellow Jackets tagged a run on the board, but Cox rolled a groundout to get out of the jam, securing a 2-1 advantage.
Bridgewater blew the contest open with a five-run bottom of the inning to take a 7-1 lead. Jen Balcom got things started with a single through the right side with one away and Anderson reached on an error to put runners at second and third. Burgess pushed both runners home with a single to the gap in right, extending the lead to 4-1. Jenkins followed with a triple to the gap in left, plating Burgess in the process for a 5-1 Eagles lead. Cox drove in Burgess with a groundout for the sixth run prior to Samantha Fridley ripping a triple to right center to keep the inning alive. Brea Hinegardner pushed Fridley home with a single to build the Bridgewater lead to 7-1 after two innings of play.
In the top of the third, the Yellow Jackets got a run back on a run-scoring groundout from the bat of Sharese Jarvis, cutting the deficit to 7-2.
After the Randolph-Macon tally, Bridgewater got back on the board in the fourth when Fridley belted a single to right, scoring Jenkins, to send the Eagles out to an 8-2 advantage.
Randolph-Macon loaded the bases in the seventh inning and scraped across one run but Cox again worked her way out of the jam with minimal damage to secure an 8-3 win in the opener.
Fridley led the Eagles bats with a 3-for-4 game with a run scored and one RBI while the Eagles had four players tally multiple hits in the opener. Bridgewater tallied 12 hits in the game-one victory.
Cox secured her 11th win of the year in complete-game fashion. The Bumpass, Va. native fanned two batters and allowed three runs on six hits.
Scoop Simon tallied two hits to lead the Randolph-Macon bats and Kelsey McLaughlin picked up the loss after allowing eight runs on a dozen hits.
In game two, Randolph-Macon took the lead with a single run in the top of the first but it would be the final run of the day for the Yellow Jackets in a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Bridgewater. Jarvis sent home Simon on a single to center field to open the scoring in the first, handing the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 advantage.
Following a pair of scoreless innings at the plate, Bridgewater took the lead for good with three runs in the third inning. Samantha Bird singled to open the frame and advanced to second on a fielder's choice when the throw to second base was wide of the mark from the catcher's hand. Anderson was hit by pitch to load the bases prior to a Burgess single, which scored Bird to tie the game up at a run each. Jenkins pushed home Brooke Throckmorton on a groundout and a Hinegardner grounder plated Anderson for a 3-1 Bridgewater lead.
Game two starting pitcher Amanda Lutz settled in over the middle innings while Bridgewater added single runs in the fifth and sixth to secure a 5-1 win.
Burgess and Jenkins belted back-to-back singles with two away to put runners on the corners for the Eagles in the fifth. Hinegardner drilled a 1-1 pitch to the gap in right, scoring Burgess in the process for a 4-1 Bridgewater lead.
Berkeley Driskill singled to open the sixth and was chased home on a Bird double to left to finalize the scoring in a 5-1 win.
Bird, Burgess and Jenkins each registered two hits in the finale while Hinegardner led the offense with two RBI.
Lutz was stellar in securing her sixth win of the year. The junior scattered just six hits and allowed one run while fanning four batters in the win.
Simon and Jarvis each tallied two hits in the nightcap while Jenna Best was tagged with the loss for Randolph-Macon.
Bridgewater returns to action on Sunday in the home finale against conference-leading Virginia Wesleyan. Start time in game one against the Marlins is set for 1 p.m.
