The softball team (5-10, 0-4 Ivy) started its spring break in Florida taking on tough opponents in the Rebel Spring Games. They dropped the first two games to Wagner, 2-1, and Hartford, 4-2. In the Wagner game, the Bears stayed close but lost in the bottom of the seventh on a walk-off single by Wagner's Ami Iwicki. In the second game of the day, against Hartford, Brown again put up a solid performance with a scoreless tie heading into the fourth inning, but could not keep the Hawks' offense quiet, and gave up two runs in the fourth and sixth innings.
The Bears finished the Rebel games by splitting the doubleheader the following day. The team pulled out a close win against Manhattan, scoring in extra innings to get the 1-0 victory. Brittany Lavine '10 singled to right field, allowing teammate Linnea Anderson '08 to score the game's only run in the ninth inning. Pitcher Michelle Moses '09 allowed only one hit in nine innings, which gave her the shutout win.
The Bears caught a bad break during the game when Amanda Asay '10 fractured her collarbone sliding into third base. The injury will leave the Bears without one of their top offensive players for the remainder of the season.
"Having a season-ending injury is difficult. I wish I could do more and help the team win games," Asay said.
In the second game, Siena jumped out to a big early lead with an eight-run first inning. The Saints tacked on another run in the second inning, while the Bears struggled on offense and were unable to recover from the early deficit.
After a tough four-game stretch in the tournament, Brown was able to recover and pick up two crucial wins in a doubleheader against Webber-International. In the first game, the Bears were able to jump out to an early lead with a two-run double by Kelsey Wilson '09, followed by a two-run homer off Anderson's bat. Not only was this Anderson's first homer of the season, but it secured the victory for Bruno, who went on to win 4-2 over the Warriors. Moses had another strong outing, striking out 12 batters and only allowing two hits. She pitched all seven innings and picked up her third win of the season.
"Our pitching has been doing really well," said Amy Baxter '08. "Along with defense, we have been keeping it close. Now the offense needs to come around in order to win games."
In the second game, the Bears fell behind early but clawed their way back with two runs in the fourth and four in the seventh. Brown led 6-4 heading into the bottom half of the inning. Moses came in to relieve Emily Chaddock '11 in the fifth and secured another Brown victory. The Bears finished their Florida road trip 3-3.
"After losing close games in the Rebel Games tournament and only getting one win in four games, it was good to sweep the doubleheader and get two important wins," Baxter said.
The Bears opened up their Ivy League season against Columbia this past weekend, losing both games of the doubleheader by scores of 4-0 and 8-5. Game one proved to be a challenge for the Bears, who fell behind by three runs in the first inning and were held to only four hits the entire game.
Brown got on the board first in the second game on an RBI double off the bat of Kristie Chin '11 in the first inning.
By the bottom of the third, the Lions had taken a 3-1 lead, but Anderson's solo home run in the fifth cut the lead in half to give the Bears new life. But the Bears ran out of steam as Columbia took command of the game, scoring five runs in the final two innings. Lavine and Anderson led the Bears offense; each had three hits on the day.
The Bears ended their road trip in Philadelphia against Ivy opponent Penn. In the first game Brown mustered only three hits, all of which were accounted for by Baxter and Anderson. The Quakers rushed ahead to an early lead and never looked back to defeat the Bears 4-0 in the opening game.
In the second game, Brown attempted to turn it around and scored the first runs of the game in the top half of the third inning. Chaddock scored the first run on an error and Chin singled to bring in the second run of the inning.
After Brown took a two-run lead, the Quaker offense woke up and scored a run of its own in the bottom of the third before adding six more in the fourth. Baxter tried to spark the Brown offense with a solo shot to center field, but it was too late.
The home run was Baxter's second of the season. She had a solid performance at the plate last weekend, improving her batting average to third on the team at .395.
"Hitting is all mental. The ability to not overthink the situation and take one pitch at a time has helped me to be successful at the plate," Baxter said.
Although Brown battled, the Quakers proved to be too much as they tacked on four more runs to defeat Brown 11-3.
Bruno will take on Ivy foes Cornell and Princeton this weekend at home as they look to bag some much needed victories to stay in the Ivy League race.
"In order to win this weekend, we need to produce key hits that bring in runs," Asay said. "We have struggled getting timely hits. If we can do that, we should come out with some wins."
