WINCHESTER, Va. – The Bridgewater College softball team swept a pair of games from Shenandoah on Wednesday.
 
THE BASICS:
Final Score:
Game one – Bridgewater 4, Shenandoah 1
Game two – Bridgewater 4, Shenandoah 2 (8 innings)
Records: Bridgewater 9-11 (2-0 ODAC); Shenandoah 8-10 (0-4 ODAC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game One:

• BC looked to strike early as Jazmyne Smith singled with two gone in the frame and Delaney Lail walked to extend the inning. The Hornets got the out they needed to retire the side. A walk in the bottom of the first gave SU a chance to strike back but a grab by Smith in foul territory ended the inning.
• Each starting pitcher went to work in the second as both sides went down in order. Caroline Malandra opened the top of the third with a single up the gut and used her speed to advance safely to second on a chopper to the left side to put her and McKenna Mueller aboard with no outs. Jordan Wise gave up her at bat with a sacrifice bunt to move the two runners into scoring position Smith dug in next and she grounded out and allowed Malandra to score and make it 1-0 for BC. McKenzie Cauthorn kept the momentum rolling as she sat down the Hornets in order with three flyouts.
• The Eagles tagged on to the lead as a pair of singles by Kaelyn Ramsey and Lexi Schaaf put two runners on with no outs. After a sharp lineout, Andrea Savage delivered with a songe through the right side pushing Ramsey across and making it 3-0. Savage and Schaaf each advanced on a wild pitch and a Malandra looked to deliver again. The BC second baseman lined out to first, but a failed throw behind the runners on base allowed for Schaaf to score and extend the edge to 3-0. Shenandoah loaded the bases in the home half of the frame on three hits, but a strikeout from Cauthorn kept the game at 3-0.
• The Eagles extended the lead in the top of the fifth on one swing from Lail as she homered to left center to make it 4-0.
• Neither side capitalized on chances in the sixth and BC left Abby Byrum stranded in the top of the seventh after a pinch-hit single. SU was down to their final two outs and a pair of hits got the home side on the scoreboard at 4-1. A double put two runners in scoring position for the Hornets and Bridgewater made the move for Erica Nelson out of the bullpen. Nelson came in and shut down the comeback effort after a nifty snag by Smith at first and a ground out to the catcher ended the game.

GAME STATS:

• Seven different Eagles recorded a hit in the win. Smith, Lail and Savage each drove in a run during the victory as well.
• Brenna Westwood was the only player on either side to recorded multiple hits with a 2-for-3 effort along with a walk.
• Cauthorn (4-3) recorded the win in 6.1 innings in the circle. Nelson earned the save after her two outs to close the game fought off the SU comeback effort.

GAME TWO

• Bridgewater hopped on the board immediately in game two as a double up the middle by Hannah Mahan got the offense going. Smith followed with a double of her own to make it 1-0 and the offense wasn't done there. Abby Byrum followed later in the inning with a single through the left side to make it 2-0 for the visitors. Shenandoah struck back in the home half of the frame as it led off the frame with a single and worked the runner around to third before a single cut the advantage in half at 2-1.
• The Hornets tied the game up in the home half of the third by virtue of a leadoff single and a bit of small ball. Another base knock brought around the leadoff runner and knotted things at 2-2.
• Each side went down in order in the fourth and each side went on to get a runner aboard in the fifth, but each defense hunkered down and kept the game tied. BC had a chance in the top of the sixth as Wise singled to left field, but she was left stranded.
• The seventh inning came with both sides still tied. The Eagles went down in order in the top half of the frame and the first Hornet was retired before a double up the middle put the potential game-winning run in scoring position. Elena Williams went to work as she induced a pop up to herself and a snag by Mueller at short sent the game to extra innings.
• Bridgewater used small ball with the international tiebreaker runner on second. Peyton Gregory laid down a bunt to move Malandra around to third and Hannah Mahan flew out just deep enough to allow her to tag up and score to give the Eagles a 4-3 advantage. Smith singled with two away to extend the inning and Lail followed with a base rip of her own to put two runners on with two gone. Mueller dug in and connected with a double to left field to drive in Molly Ecroyd who pinch ran for Smith to make it 4-2. The Hornets got out of the frame and Williams went back to work for BC in the circle and delivered as she retired the side in order to secure the victory.

GAME STATS:

• Smith and Lail fueled the BC offense with a pair of hits each. In total, seven different Eagles registered a hit and four different hitters had a RBI.
• McQueeney was the fuel for SU in game two with three hits and two runs scored. She accounted for just shy of half of the Hornets hits and all of their runs.
• Williams (2-3) picked up the win in game to as she allowed just two base runners in her 5.0 innings of relief work.

UP NEXT
The Eagles head to Lynchburg to battle the Hornets on Good Friday in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.