Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 DONNIE FULK POSTGAME CELEBRATION PHOTOS
BRIDGEWATER, Va. – In the home finale for the Bridgewater Eagles softball team, the Eagles allowed the Marlins to plate a single unearned run but the Bridgewater bats couldn't get going in a 1-0 loss to Virginia Wesleyan. The 13th-ranked Marlins exploded at the plate in the second game, claiming an 8-0 victory in five innings to pick up the sweep over the Eagles.
Virginia Wesleyan (29-5, 14-2 ODAC) took advantage of a fielding miscue on the Eagles in the first before Bridgewater starter Brianna Cox and Marlins hurler Mackenzie Creech locked up in a brilliant pitching duel over the middle innings. Season Dailey reached on an error in the first, allowing Kayla Malkos to score from third, putting the Marlins up by a 1-0 score.
Both teams stranded bases runners in the third and the fifth innings prior to the Marlins loading the bases in the top of the sixth. Cox forced a Courtney Bogan groundout to get out of the inning, keeping the Eagles within striking distance at a 1-0 deficit.
In the home halves of the sixth and seventh, Virginia Wesleyan reliever Kristina Karagiorgis put the Eagles down in order to secure a 1-0 victory for the Marlins in a tight contest throughout.
Kasey Anderson went 2-for-3 from her leadoff post in the opener as the senior led the Bridgewater bats on the afternoon.
Cox was tagged with the loss after allowing just three hits and one unearned run over seven innings of work.
Three different Marlins batters tallied hits in the opener and Creech remained unbeaten with her 11th win of the season after allowing no runs on two hits over the first four innings of play. Karagiorgis secured her first save of the year, tossing the final three innings and allowing just a single hit.
Virginia Wesleyan took control early in the finale, tallying four runs in the first inning en route to an 8-0 win. The Marlins used some small ball and five base hits in the first inning to run out to a 4-0 lead before a line-out double play got the Eagles out of the inning.
The Marlins added two runs in the second and two runs in the third to build an 8-0 lead while the Eagles stranded runners in each inning in an 8-0 defeat in five innings of play.
Anderson again led the Bridgewater offense with two hits in game two, while Lauren Jenkins and Samantha Fridley each tallied a hit in the nightcap.
Amanda Lutz was tagged with the loss after allowing six runs on seven hits in one inning in the circle. Haley Harris pitched the final four innings and allowed two unearned runs on three hits.
Tori Higginbotham and Megan Zahnd each recorded a two-hit effort in the finale while Higginbotham pushed home two runs to lead the Marlins attack.
Karagiorgis secured her 16th win of the year in the circle after allowing no runs on three hits over the first three innings of play. Mary Shipp and Lindsay Inzana each tossed a shutout inning to wrap up the victory for Virginia Wesleyan.
The games were also the final home games for Bridgewater College head coach Donnie Fulk who will retire at the end of this season after 23 years at the helm of the Eagles' program. The College recognized Fulk during a postgame celebration and presented Fulk with a proclamation from the Bridgewater College Board of Trustees.
Bridgewater (18-13-1, 8-9-1 ODAC) returns to action on Wednesday for the final conference games of the year as the Eagles head to Guilford. Start time against the Quakers is set for 3 p.m.
