The weather was cold in Baltimore, but the softball team heated things up with an 8-2 win over Canisius College last Friday at the UMBC Dawg Pound Tournament. The other game of the weekend against the University of Maryland at Baltimore County was cancelled due to inclement weather. The win improved the Bears to 2-3 on the season.
Brown fell behind, 1-0, in the top of the first inning but quickly tallied three runs of their own in the bottom half. Kelsey Wilson '09 fueled the Bears' early comeback with a single up the middle on the first pitch of her at-bat, putting runners at first and second with one out. Wilson went 2-for-3 in the game with two singles and a walk. She also leads the team in batting average at .692.
"I felt good at the plate. I hit the first pitch on the first at-bat, which gave me confidence to attack the pitches I liked later in the game," Wilson said.
The first inning saw Amy Baxter '08, Linnea Anderson '08 and Kristie Chin '11 cross the plate for Brown. Chin finished the game 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored. Brown was able to gain momentum and set the tone early for the rest of the game.
The Bears went down one-two-three in the bottom of the second, but scored in each of the following four innings to take a commanding 8-1 lead. Brown was able to chase Golden Griffins starting pitcher Lindsay Morris from the game in the fourth inning. The Bears were further able to capitalize on their opponent's mistakes by getting people on base and advancing runners with key hits and wild pitches. The Bears focused on improving their defensive play all week, which paid off as they were able to hold Canisius to only two runs. Canisius tacked on one more run in the top of the seventh, but it was too little, too late.
"This weekend we learned to be patient at the plate, which gave us confidence. We were able to see a lot of pitches because we drew a lot of walks," Head Coach DeeDee Enabenter-Omidiji said.
The winning pitcher for the Bears was Michelle Moses '09, who went all seven innings. She struck out six batters, while giving up only six hits and walking seven.
"Michelle Moses did a great job considering the weather conditions. It was cold and difficult to get a grip to control the ball, but she hung in there. We stayed with her the whole game and she toughed it out for us," Enabenter-Omidiji said.
Other players to pick up key RBIs for the Bears were Amanda Asay '10, Lindsay Rice '11 and Brittany Lavine '10. Asay and Rice are now tied for second on the team in total RBIs, with four each, while Chin leads the team with five.
Brown will have this weekend off as they prepare for spring break action in Kissimmee, Fla. The Rebel Spring games begin on March 21 and will continue until March 25.
