VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (BC Athletics) – The Bridgewater College softball team extended its season with a 4-3 win over Shenandoah in walk off fashion in game one of the day on Saturday before falling in an elimination game to Lynchburg 4-1.

THE BASICS:
Final Score:
Game one – No. 5 Bridgewater 4, No. 8 Shenandoah 3 (10 Inn.)
Game two – No. 4 Lynchburg 4, No. 5 Bridgewater 1
Records: Bridgewater 19-24; Shenandoah 16-26; Lynchburg 29-11

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game One:
• Shenandoah jumped in front right away with a leadoff single and some small ball. A sacrifice bunt moved the leadoff runner to second and a fielder’s choice moved the runner over to third before a single made it 1-0 for the Hornets before BC could get to the plate.
• BC went down in order in the home half of the first and Samantha Martin helped her mates out by sitting the Hornets down in order in the top half of the second. Delaney Lail opened the bottom of the second with a single before a sacrifice bunt moved her over to second. SU got out of the jam quickly with a pair of groundouts back to the pitcher to keep the lead intact through two.
• Each team put a runner on in the third inning, but both left their comrades stranded. Martin put down Shenandoah in order in the top of the fourth and BC capitalized as Jazmyne Smith singled and then Lail was tagged by a pitch to put two runners on. BC went for the pinch runners as Cheyenne Barlow ran for Smith and Molly Ecroyd entered for Lail. Mckenna Mueller stepped in next and laid down a bunt back to the pitcher, but a wild throw allowed Mueller to reach and allowed Barlow to come around and score and tie the game.
• Martin capitalized on the momentum from the score and struck out the side in the top of the fifth and SU made a change in the circle. The Hornets put BC down in order in the fifth and turned their attention to the sixth as a McQueeney leadoff single and more small ball eventually led to SU wrestling the lead back at 2-1. The Eagles wasted no time in responding as a Smith double and a Lexi Schaaf single evened the game at 2-2 after six. Each side put a runner on in the seventh, but the scoreboard did not move to send the game into extras.
• A double to start things in the eighth gave SU the first chance to strike. Paige Eagleton was the runner at second for the Hornets and she eventually scored as a BC error on a flyball made it 3-2 heading to the bottom of the eighth. Smit wasted no time in recharging the BC offense as she belted a solo shot to right center to even the score at 3-3. Each side put runners on in the ninth, but once more the scoreboard did not waiver sending the game to the 10th.
• SU had a runner on second to start the 10th by virtue of the international tiebreaker. The BC defense went to work in the frame as a strikeout from Lail in relief and a pair of snags by the corner outfielders sent it to the home half of the frame with a chance to pounce. Smith led off the frame with Byrum standing on second and she delivered again with a single the opposite way to give BC the win.

GAME STATS:
• Smith was the fuel to the BC offense with a 4-for-5 effort and a pair of RBI. Lail, Schaaf and Andrea Savage all pitched in hits in the win as well.
• Lail picked up the win in her relief effort with two strikeouts compared to just one hit in her two innings of relief. Martin’s start kept BC in it as she allowed two earned runs in 8.0 innings on 99 pitches.
• For the Hornets, Tiffany Bower did the heavy lifting offensively with two RBI and a pair of hits.

GAME TWO vs Lynchburg
• Bridgewater got a runner on in the top of the first as Abby Byrum drew a walk with one away, but a 4-6-3 double play by Lynchburg ended the threat. Lail got the call against the Hornets for the second day in a row and started smooth, retiring them in order. Mueller was the first hitter to reach on a single with one away in the second, but she was left stranded. Lynchburg put a runner on as well, but met the same result.
• BC went down in order in the third and Lynchburg wanted to capitalize as a single opened the home half of the third. A failed sacrifice bunt attempt got the first out of the frame and a pop-up double play by Savage at third ended the scoring threat.
• Byrum led off the top half of the fourth with a single and moved to second on a Smith sacrifice bunt. A pop out to third slowed the momentum a touch, before Mueller worked a long at bat and was put away on a groundout to short stop. Lynchburg responded with a leadoff double before a flyout pushed the leadoff runner to third with just one gone. The next Hornet to the dish lined out to center with just enough depth to allow Barnes to tag and score to break the scoreless draw and send it to the fifth at a 1-0 Lynchburg lead.
• BC quickly found itself with two outs before Savage put a charge into one off the top of the wall and just staying in the park for a double. Mackenzie Cauthorn pinch hit in the nine spot for the Eagles and delivered with a single through the middle to move Savage to third with two gone. Jordan Wise stepped in next and tried to check her swing on the 1-1 offering but she made contact and sent a flare to shallow right and drove in Savage easily to even things up at 1-1. Lail rolled with the momentum as she cruised through the bottom half of the frame to keep it tied heading to the sixth.
• The Eagles went down in order in the top half of the sixth and Lynchburg instantly replied. A leadoff doubled paired with a single put runner on the corners before a single through the left side gave Lynchburg the lead. A sacrifice fly drove in the second base runner before a single later in the frame made it 4-1 for Lynchburg heading to the seventh. Dorcsis got some help from her defnse as a pair of nice grabs by her defense before a shallow flyout ended things.

GAME STATS:
• The Bridgewater offense improved upon its showing against Dorcsis in its second time seeing her in as many days. Five different Eagles tallied a hit with Byrum being the only one to reach twice.
• Lail was on the hook for the loss in the second game of the day as she allowed four earned runs in 5.0+ innings of work. Martin hurled the final three outs for BC.
• Dorcsis tossed another gem for the second time in as many days. The Lynchburg starter went the distance allowing just the one earned run on five hits. Madison Barnes led the Hornets offensively with a pair of hits and a pair of runs scored.

The Eagles season comes to a close in the ODAC Tournament with a 19-24 record after playing one of its toughest schedules in program history. BC earned its first ranked victory in two years during the campaign and earned a victory in the postseason for the first time since 2022.

— BC Athletics —