By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University softball team began a stretch of eight straight home games by sweeping a doubleheader.
The Bears edged the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, 1-0, in the opener and took the second game, 4-2, on Monday afternoon.
BSU (14-12) is now 5-3 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference while the Buccaneers (11-11) fell 2-10 in the conference. The Bears own a 48-2 lifetime mark against Mass. Maritime, including 28-0 at home.
Freshman Olivia Hargreaves (Weare, N.H.) pitched a four-hit shutout in the first game, holding the Buccaneers hitless until the fifth inning, as she improved to 4-2.
In the second game, Olyvia Mendonca (Taunton, Mass.), who is now 5-1, and McKayla Cusack (West Haven, Conn.) combined to allow only five Buccaneer hits.
It was Jackie Robinson Day at Alumni Park in honor of the day in 1947 when he became the first Black player in Major League Baseball. Players wore Robinson's No. 42 on their warmups prior to the game, and coaches wore the number before and during the games.
Game One: Bridgewater State 1, Mass. Maritime 0
Hargreaves did not allow a baserunner until Ab'c'de Patane (El Cajo, Calif.) led the fifth inning with a single to left field.
The Buccaneers managed only three more hits, two-out singles in the sixth by Reagan Kerecz (Tolland, Conn.) and Hannah Burton (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and a two-out single up the middle by Jeannamarie Klemp (Onset, Mass.) in the seventh.
The lone run was registered in the second inning.
Victoria Becker (Abington, Mass.) reached on an infield hit, stole second and advanced on a groundout by Riley Fitzgerald (Swansea, Mass.). She scored on a wild pitch.
BSU was limited to four other hits, singles by Emily Marcotte (North Dighton, Mass.), Sydney Schaefer (Swarthmore, Pa.), Angelina Lynch (Taunton, Mass.) and Lily Gioiosa (Dartmouth, Mass.).
Hargreaves (4-2) struck out two with no walks while Klemp (6-6) had five strikeouts and fanned two for the Buccaneers in the complete game effort. The shutout marked the first of Hargreaves' collegiate career.
Game Two: Bridgewater State 4: Mass. Maritime 2
The Buccaneers took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Burton singled to right-center, Kelsey Booker (Corning, N.Y.) walked and Sarah Holler (Hingham, Mass.) singled up the middle.
BSU went in front, 2-1, in the bottom of the inning.
Savanah DuBois (New Bedford, Mass.) walked, went to second on a wild pitch and to third on a throw. When Makayla Ansell (Menifee, Calif.), who had walked, was caught stealing at second, DuBois scored.
Lynch broke the tie with her first home run of the season that went to left field with two outs.
The Bears added a run in the fourth when Becker doubled down the line in left and went to third on a Fitzgerald groundout. Mendonca walked, and when she was caught stealing, Becker scored.
The lead expanded to 4-1 in the fifth as Becker walked and stole second before scoring on a double to left-center by Ansell.
Mass. Maritime scored an unearned run in the seventh as Erin Donlan (Durham, Conn.) doubled to left, pinch runner Ava Rolfe (Marstons Mills, Mass.) went to third on a passed ball and scored on a groundout.
Mendonca (5-1) gave up just one run on four hits in her five innings as she picked up her team-leading fifth win of the season. Cusack allowed one unearned run in one hit over two innings to record he first save of the 2024 campaign.
Ansell was 2-for-2 with two doubles and Lynch went 2-for-3 to lead BSU, which had five hits. Burton had two of the Buccaneers' five hits.
BSU hosts a non-conference doubleheader against Suffolk University at 3:30 on Wednesday afternoon while Mass. Maritime is idle until a road doubleheader against Regis College on April 24 at 5 p.m.