Softball Denied in Back-and-Forth Battles at Drew

MADISON, N.J. —  The St. Joseph's University Brooklyn softball team rang out 25 hits and combined for 14 runs, but suffered a pair of losses to Drew University on Thursday evening in their final non-league games of the season.

Seeking their 20th win of the season, the Bears (19-11) rallied from a 4-0 deficit in game one with a seven-run seventh-inning rally, but couldn't hold off the Rangers (24-15). The Bears led on two occasions in the nightcap with a three-run fourth building a 7-5 lead, before the hosts scored six unanswered to sweep the series.

Game 1: Drew 8, St. Joseph's 7

The Rangers drew first blood with a two-out rally in the second posting two runs and added another pair in the third for a 4-0 lead.

The Bears threatened in the fourth to get on the board loading the bases but coming away empty-handed.

Knocking seven hits through six scoreless frames, the navy-and-gray broke through in the seventh posting seven runs on seven hits as the first five Bears to the plate all knocked a hit. Vivian Tomovich (San Diego, Calif./Serra) led off with a double and Arianna Heinsch (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall) singled to put runners at the corners. An Alexis Buchanan (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley) single brought home Tomovich for the Bears first run and Ashleigh Hartwig (Santee, Calif./West Hills) singled to load the bases. 

Sofia Logreco (San Diego, Calif./Mission Hills) belted a double to the gap in right-center to clear the bases and knot the game up at 4-all. A Ranger miscue allowed Logreco to cross home to put the Bears ahead and Autumn Poppett hit her fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot, to push the SJC lead to 7-4.

But the comeback bid would be spoiled in the bottom of the seventh as the Rangers would score four unearned runs for the walk-off win, aided by a pair of Bears miscues.

Jessica Mecham (West Jordan, Utah/Copper Hills) went five innings in the circle in a no-decision, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits, striking out two. Sierra Bedrin (Rocklin, Calif./Whitney) took the loss in 1.1 innings of relief, her four runs crossing unearned, on five hits with one strikeout.

Ten different Bears knocked a hit as SJBK outhit the hosts, 14-10, led by Bella Gomez's (Whittier, Calif./Sonora) 3-for-4 effort. Hartwig and Tomovich also recorded multi-hit games with two hits and scored once. Logreco was the top run producer with three RBI and a double. 

Game 2: Drew 11, St. Joseph's 7

The nightcap featured a back-and-forth, high-scoring affair with each team scoring in their end through the first four innings.

The Bears loaded the bases in the first and came away with one run on a Nicole Trani () single but the Rangers responded with a pair in the bottom half for a 2-1 lead. The Bears knocked four hits in the second with Heinsch's two-out single tying the game a 2-all.

Drew would regain the lead again in the home half, another Bears miscue allowing both across unearned. But St. Joseph's rallied to tie the game again in their next at bat, Maeve McKeon's (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant) two-out double leveling the game at 4-all.

The hosts pulled ahead again with a solo run in the third but the Bears hung three in the fourth to move ahead, 7-5. A Hartwig double tied the game and Logreco followed with an infield RBI single and Trani lifted a sacrifice fly to score Hartwig.

Drew answered with three in the home half of the fourth to take the lead for good moving ahead 8-7 and added three insurance runs in the fifth as the Bears bats went cold and were hitless over their final three innings.

Poppet took the loss in the circle working 3.1 innings with four of her eight runs scoring earned.

Hartwig finished 2-for-4 with a double and Tomovich went 2-for-3 to compile the lone multi-hit games. Trani and McKeon both batted 1-for-2 and drove in two runs. 

Next Up

The Bears return to the diamond on Saturday, April 30 hosting sibling rivals St. Joseph's (Long Island) in a key matchup with potential playoff seeding implications as the Golden Eagles sit a half-game ahead of the Bears. First pitch from the LIU Softball Complex in Brookville, N.Y. is set for 12 p.m. with live stats and video available at sjcbears.com/live.