ASHLAND, Va. – The No. 6 seed, Bridgewater College softball team, opened play with a 7-1 loss against the nationally-ranked and No. 3 seed, Virginia Wesleyan at the Randolph-Macon Softball Field on Friday evening.

Final Score: Virginia Wesleyan 7, Bridgewater 1
Records: Bridgewater 20-21, Virginia Wesleyan 33-8

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Marlins got on the board early in the first inning after loading the bases. Caitlin Myers was hit by a pitch to bring in Laci Campbell, 1-0.

• VWU added to its lead in the following inning as Campbell doubled in Sarah Prosser followed by an Alison Pollack two-run home run to center as the Marlins held a 4-0 edge after the game’s first two innings. They added another run in the fifth on a sac fly to make it 6-0.

• The Eagles got moving in the sixth as Torie Shifflett started it off with an infield single and found herself at third after a Sarah Wimer base knock. Morgan Lucas drove in Shifflett to get BC on the board, 6-1.

• A solo home run in the sixth put the Marlins up to the final score of 6-1 in favor of the No. 13 team in the country.

GAME STATS
• Shifflett and Wimer each had two hit days, while Lucas had the lone RBI and Shifflett scored the only run.

• Lucas, Jordan Wise and Hannah Mahan all had a hit.

• Brantley Swift started in the circle for the Eagles before Mackenzie Cauthorn came in for relief for 3.1 innings. She struck out two and allowed four hits. Erica Nelson pitched the sixth and gave up one hit.

• Lauren Bible moved to 12-1 on the season as she pitched 5.0 innings of shutout softball. She struck out four and yielded three hits.

UP NEXT
Bridgewater will face the No. 7 seed, Randolph, at 11 am tomorrow, Saturday, May 6, at the Randolph-Macon Softball Field. The winner will advance to play at 4 pm against the loser of No. 2 seed, Randolph-Macon, and No. 3 seed, Virginia Wesleyan who play at 1:30 pm.

— BC Athletics —