By Jim Fenton
LITTLE RIVER, S.C. -- The Bridgewater State University softball team is returning home from its successful spring break trip with a five-game winning streak.
The Bears, who began the season by going 6-2 at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic, swept a second straight doubleheader on Friday afternoon to wrap up the trip.
BSU opened the day with an 8-0 victory over Centenary University of Hackettstown, N.J., behind the pitching of sophomore Olivia Hargreaves (Weare, N.H.). She allowed just two hits in a game that was halted in the fifth inning because of the mercy rule.
The sweep was completed with another 2-0 win over Gwynedd Mercy University of Gwynedd Valley, Pa., as senior McKayla Cusack (West Haven, Conn.) gave up five hits in the complete game effort.
The Bears split their first two doubleheaders in South Carolina before putting together back-to-back sweeps on the final two days.
Game One: Bridgewater State 8, Centenary 0 (5 Inn.)
Hargreaves struck out four to improve to 2-1.
In her last two starts, Hargreaves has given up five hits and no runs in 12 innings. She has 19 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings in three starts this season.
Centenary (1-7) had two runners on in the second and one in the third but went down in order the other three innings.
The Bears took a 3-0 lead in the first inning as senior Emily Marcotte (North Dighton, Mass.) walked, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch.
Sophomore Sydney Schaefer (Swarthmore, Pa.) and junior Angelina Lynch (Taunton, Mass.) drew walks to load the bases and senior Riley FItzgerald (Swansea, Mass.) made it 1-0 with a sacrifice fly to center.
Senior Amelia Blake (Raynham, Mass.) then drove in Schaefer and Lynch with a single to center.
The lead went to 5-0 in the second when Schaefer had a two-run single up the middle to score graduate student Janet Jolly (Raynham, Mass.), who had singled, and Marcotte, who reached on a fielder's choice.
BSU concluded the game in the fifth with three more runs.
Lynch doubled to left-center and scored on a single up the middle by Fitzgerald.
Blake doubled to right-center and an error and a groundout scored the final two runs.
Blake and Jolly had two hits each for the Bears, who had eight hits and took advantage of three errors by the Cyclones.
Game Two: Bridgewater State 2, Gwynedd Valley 0
Cusack improved to 3-0 with a 0.67 earned run average in three games. She has given up just two earned runs and 13 hits in 21 innings.
The Griffins (2-6) threatened in the bottom of the seventh, but Cusack worked out of trouble.
Gwynedd Valley had two runners on with one out after Cusack hit a batter and gave up a single to sophomore Hannah Cohen (North Wales, Pa.).
But she got the second out on a called third strike and the final out was recorded on a grounder to the pitcher.
BSU managed just five hits off losing pitcher Jocelyn Baumeister (Willow Grove, Pa.) who took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
The Bears were hitless until there were two outs in the sixth. The only baserunner to that point was sophomore Makayla Ansell (Menifee, Calif.), who drew a walk in the first inning.
BSU ended the scoreless tie with two runs in the sixth inning.
Marcotte singled to left-center with two outs (to break up the no-hitter) and stole second.
After Ansell was hit by a pitch, Schaefer doubled down the left-field line for two runs.
BSU had three hits in the seventh inning by freshman Isabel Bishop (Lynn, Mass.), junior Olyvia Mendonca (Taunton, Mass.) and junior Victoria Becker (Abington, Mass.) but did not score.
The Bears will have their home opener on Tuesday at 3 p.m. with a doubleheader against UMass Dartmouth.