SWEET BRIAR, Va. – The Sweet Briar College softball team (7-9, 0-2 ODAC) was edged out by the Bridgewater College Eagles (10-4, 2-0 ODAC) to open up Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play this afternoon; falling in game one, 3-2, and in game two, 9-0.
Game One
After going down 2-0 through the top of the third inning, Sweet Briar broke through in the bottom third. After junior
Ciara Nauful (Forest, Va.) reached on an error to open the frame, fellow junior
Jordan Martin (Wilmington, N.C.) laid down a sacrifice that moved her into scoring position. With two outs, senior
Kaylie Hudson (Lynchburg, Va.) came up with the first Sweet Briar scoring play of the game, driving a double into right field to plate Nauful and cut the deficit to 2–1.
The Vixens immediately kept the pressure on in the fourth. Junior
Jordan Dorrier (Buckingham, Va.) led off with a single, and pinch runner sophomore
Emily Cottingham (Chesterfield, Va.) moved up to second on a groundout and then swiped third to get 60 feet from home. Moments later, Cottingham raced in on a wild pitch, pulling Sweet Briar within 3–2 and capping the Vixens' scoring for the afternoon.
In the circle, junior
Ambyre Taylor (Arrington, Va.) turned in a workhorse performance for Sweet Briar, going the distance with 7.0 innings of four-hit ball while striking out seven and walking just two. She kept Bridgewater off balance after a first-inning homer, allowing only three runs overall, and limited traffic by facing just 28 batters, only one more than the minimum despite the Eagles' three runs.
Game Two
Bridgewater struck first in the opening inning, while Sweet Briar allowed a leadoff single but limited the damage to a single run on a double-play ball in the second.
With the score at 2-0 in favor of the visitors, the game swung in the fourth when Bridgewater capitalized and put up a five-run frame, stretching the margin while Sweet Briar's bats were kept quiet.
Bridgewater added two more insurance runs in the fifth before Sweet Briar mounted one last push in the home half. Cottingham reached on an error to start the inning, and senior
Anna Smith (Rocky Mount, Va.) followed with a fielder's choice that kept a runner on, but a flyout to left and a strikeout ended the Vixens' final chance and sealed the 9–0 result.
Highlights
- Sweet Briar's one-run loss in game one marks the closest score margin in history between the two programs.
- Hudson went four-for-three in the first game with a double and an RBI, while Dorrier was two-for-three.
What's Next
The Vixens will head to Southern Virginia on March 17th.
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