Bulldogs Sweep Hillsdale in Rain-Soaked
Doubleheader
March 14,
2008
Game
1 Box Game 2
Box
Lakeland, Fla. - After a slow start to the season, the Bulldog
offense awoke in a big way Friday night as Bryant slugged its way
to a doubleheader sweep of Hillsdale on a rainy night at Barnett
Field on the campus of Florida Southern. With a steady rain beating
down all night, the Bulldogs rallied for a 9-6 win in game one
before hanging for a wild 13-5, mercy-rule win in game two.
Junior captain Stephanie Mirando's (North Haven,
CT) bases-clearing triple with the bases loaded in the
bottom of the sixth led the Bulldogs in game one, as Bryant was
able to overcome six defensive errors.
The Bulldogs got on the board early when Jessica
Valentini's (Cliffside Park, NJ) bases clearing double in
the bottom of the first inning knotted the game after the Chargers
scored three runs of their own off Bryant starter Janine
Enos (Wareham, Mass.). Valentini would come home on a long
double by the next batter Anne Dobmeier (Buffalo,
NY).
The teams settled down during the middle innings with Hillsdale
clinging to a 5-4 lead until Alison Chouinard (Swansea,
Mass.) knocked in Regi Burdo (Wayne, PA)
to tie the game at five. Hillsdale pitcher Ellen Eldridge followed
with walks to Valentini and Dobmeier to push across Kim
Breton (Leominster, Mass.) with the go-ahead run.
Mirando followed with a deep drive to left center that put the
Bulldogs up 9-5. The Chargers loaded the bases with no outs thanks
to the sixth error of the evening by the Bulldogs, but Enos (1-2)
held Hillsdale to just one run to preserve the Bulldogs' first
victory of the game. Dobmeier was 2 for 2 with two walks and two
RBIs in the game. Mirando and Valentini finished the game with
three RBI each.
In game two, the Bulldogs exploded for seven runs in the top of
the third inning, helped by six walks from Hillsdale starter Kellie
Hirst and capped off with a mammoth grand slam by Kate
Thomas (Bedford, NH). Thomas stepped to the plate after
Hirst had walked in three consecutive runs and launched a high
drive that bounced off the top of and over the wall some 225 feet
from home plate. The Dogs would tack on four more runs in the
fifth.
The offensive explosion was enough support for starter
Samantha Houseal (Mount Joy, PA). The freshman
(1-2) shut down the Chargers for four innings, and a mercy-rule
looked to be safe when Hillsdale came to bat down 12-0. However,
the Chargers pushed across five runs, before the Bulldogs tacked on
a 13th run and withstood a bases loaded jam in the
bottom of the frame to enact the 8-run mercy
rule.
The wins conclude the team's spring break trip to Florida. The
Bulldogs return home with a 2-4 record and will play their next
games March 27 at Franklin Pierce.
