After winning the first game at SUNY-Oneonta today by a score of 7-4, the softball team needed a win to continue its nine-game winning streak, while the Red Dragons needed a win to snap their four-game losing streak.
The Red Dragons shut down the Blue and Gold’s high-powered offense in the second game however, emerging with a 7-0 shutout victory. This was the South Hill squad’s largest shutout loss since the first game of the 2010 regular season when they fell to Gustavus Adolphus College 8-0 in Panama City, Fla.
The Bombers struck first in the third inning of Game 1, with RBI singles from freshman shortstop Francesca Busa and junior infielder Molly O’Donnell. Sophomore outfielder and second baseman Julianne Vincent then cleared the bases with a two-run triple to give the Bombers a 4-0 lead.
The Red Dragons answered back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the third, but the Blue and Gold added two insurance runs in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead and hold on the rest of the game.
Sophomore pitcher Sam Bender earned her seventh win of the year in the circle, pitching five innings with three of four runs earned. Sophomore Jillian Olmstead pitched two scoreless innings to close the door and earn her fourth save of the season. Before the second game against Oneonta, she had not allowed a run since the second game of a doubleheader against Elmira College on April 7.
The second game of the doubleheader was all about Oneonta’s freshman pitcher Katie O’Flynn, who shut out the Bombers and surrendered only five hits while striking out five.
Bender matched O’Flynn pitch for pitch until the sixth inning before Oneonta exploded for a seven-run rally, which started with two critical fielding errors by the Blue and Gold’s infielders. After Olmstead replaced Bender, Red Dragons sophomore shortstop Chandler Campbell hit a single down the left field line scoring what proved to be the game-winning run. O’Flynn then helped her own cause with a two-run double to tack on insurance runs for Oneonta.
The South Hill squad wraps up its five-series road trip, traveling to Kings College for a doubleheader against the Monarchs on Thursday.
