Bloomsburg Splits Twinbill With Kutztown in Softball

BLOOMSBURG—The Bloomsburg University softball team squeaked out a 1-0 win over Kutztown in game one of its doubleheader on Tuesday before dropping the nightcap 5-3. The loss in game two snapped the Huskies 19-game winning streak.

In the opener, Jill Homyak (Lehighton/Marian Catholic) doubled home Sarah McDaniel (Dallastown/Dallastown) with the game's only run. McDaniel had led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple to the fence in right field with Homyak following with the RBI double.

Neither team had many scoring chances through the first three innings before the Huskies' Amanda Breon (Bellefonte/Bellefonte) tripled with one out in the fourth, but, was left stranded.

The Golden Bears had two on with two outs in the fifth, but pitcher Amanda Smith (Sandy Ridge/Philipsburg-Osceola) struckout pinch hitter Jennifer Lincoln. In the top of the seventh, the Golden Rams loaded the bases with a two walks and a single, but Adriane Wilmer grounded out to Breon at shortstop to end the game.

For Smith, it was her eighth win of the year against no losses and lowered her ERA to 0.55. Smith now has won 12 straight games dating back to last season.

In game two, the Golden Bears used the long ball to knock off Bloomsburg. Kutztown got a two-run homer from Erin Livingston in the top of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. The runs were the first allowed in the career of freshman pitcher Sheelin Fisher (Coplay/Allentown Central Catholic) who had not allowed a run in her first 24 innings of work.

The Huskies rallied and scored once in the bottom of the first on an RBI from Dee Wolfe, then took a 3-2 lead with a pair of runs in the third. Sara Roba (Emmaus/Emmaus) and Laurel Koster (Whitney Point, NY/Cicero North Syracuse) had RBI hits in the inning.

Kutztown got the go-ahead runs in the fourth on a three-run homer from Tarin Horonzy. Bloomsburg did threaten in the sixth inning getting runners at second and third with no out, but could not score.

Bloomsburg, 24-2, 5-1 in the PSAC East, will visit Mansfield on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.