Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Myrtle Beach, S.C. has always been good to head coach Donnie Fulk in his 23 years at the helm of the Bridgewater Eagles softball program and the 2014 Spring Break trip was no different. Junior Amanda Lutz hurled a perfect game and the Eagles needed just 10 total innings to dispatch Delaware Valley and Arcadia on the final day of competition at the Snowbird Tournament.
Lutz put down 15 batters in order in the opener to record her first career perfect game as the Eagles easily won the first game in five innings by an 8-0 tally over Delaware Valley. In the finale, Bridgewater pounded out 13 hits, including a two-RBI blast from the bat of Brooke Throckmorton, to run away from Arcadia by a 9-0 score in five innings.
In the first game, Lutz fanned the first six batters of the game while the Eagles put runs on the board in each of the first three innings to take a 6-0 lead after three complete.
Bridgewater (8-2) got things started in the first when senior Kasey Anderson led off the frame with a single and stole second to put the leadoff runner in scoring position. Anderson moved to third on a groundout before scoring on a Samantha Fridley grounder to put the Eagles out in front, 1-0. Following a Brea Hinegardner triple to right field, Audra Koogler reached base on an error, allowing Hinegardner to score and extend the lead to 2-0.
In the second, the Eagles added another run when Elizabeth Keech scored on an error on the catcher to put Bridgewater up, 3-0. Keech was walked before the Delaware Valley catcher, Jackie Wear, tried to throw Keech out at first base. Wear's throw sailed into right field, allowing Keech to score all the way from first to give Bridgewater an additional insurance run.
Delaware Valley got the bat on the ball in the third, but Lutz sandwiched a strikeout between a pair of groundouts to remain perfect through three innings in the circle.
Hinegardner opened the third with another triple to right and was plated on a Koogler single to build the Bridgewater lead to 4-0. Lutz responded with a single to put runners on the corners before a Keech double to the gap in left pushed home Koogler to push the advantage to 5-0. Lutz scored during the next at-bat on a sacrifice fly from Jen Balcom to put the Eagles out in front, 6-0.
Lutz struck out two more batters in the fourth and kept everything in the infield in the fifth to remain perfect after five innings of work.
Bridgewater put the game in the books with a two-RBI single from Lauren Jenkins which plated Keech and Balcom to end the game, giving Bridgewater an 8-0 win.
Lutz's (4-0) perfect game is just the third in program history, matching the feat previously accomplished by Bridgewater all-region selections Lisa Rhodes and Heather Jenkins. Jenkins last tossed the perfect game for the Eagles on March 23, 2013 against Randolph College. Rhodes' perfect game came in a 6-0 victory in 2004 against Randolph-Macon.
At the plate, five players tallied two hits each while Jenkins led the way with a two-RBI effort. Anderson tallied two hits in the win to run her streak to five games with two or more hits.
Delaware Valley (1-6) pitcher Whitney Stacey was tagged with the loss after allowing eight runs on a dozen hits.
Bridgewater kept the bats rolling in the nightcap, belting out a dozen hits in a 9-0 win over Arcadia.
The Eagles scored in each of the five innings of play to take home the team's eighth straight victory.
Anderson opened the second game in the same way that she opened the first when she tagged a single to left field before swiping her 11th base of the season. The Chatham, Va. native moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Jenkins groundout to put Bridgewater up, 1-0. Fridley followed with a walk and was pushed home two batters later on a Throckmorton single up the middle as the Eagles took a 2-0 advantage after a half-inning of play.
Starting pitcher Brianna Cox mowed thru the Arcadia lineup in order in the first before Bridgewater tagged two more runs on the board in the second. Haley Harris opened the inning with a single and scored when Anderson reached on an error by the shortstop as the Eagles rolled out to a 3-0 lead. Two batters later, Anderson scored on a double to the right-field gap to extend the Bridgewater lead to 4-0 after two.
Arcadia tallied a two-out single in the second but did no damage on the scoreboard to keep the Bridgewater lead at 4-0 after two complete.
In the third, Berkeley Driskill belted a single to left field to put the lead-off runner on board. Throckmorton followed by blasting a 0-1 pitch over the fence in left center to hand Bridgewater a 6-0 lead. Cox answered with a single and was pushed home later in the inning on a Jenkins single to left as the Eagles took a sizeable 7-0 lead after two and a half. Jenkins has hit safely in all 10 games on the year and owns a .500 batting average which ranks fifth in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).
Arcadia had its best opportunity of the day in the home half of the third when Natalie O'Reilly led off the inning with a single. O'Reilly later took advantage of two wild pitches to end up on third base but Cox fanned a batter and forced a fly out to end the inning to keep the shutout intact.
Harris gave the Eagles an 8-0 lead with a bases-loaded walk, pushing home Driskill in the process.
In the bottom of the fourth, Arcadia scattered another hit but stayed off of the scoreboard as Bridgewater owned an 8-0 lead heading to the final inning.
Throckmorton capped off the inning with a run-scoring single to center which plated Keech from second base to finalize the scoring at a 9-0 tally.
Arcadia went down in order in the fifth as Bridgewater rolled to a 9-0 victory.
Throckmorton finished the game with a 3-for-4 outing and four RBI. Driskill was perfect at the plate with a 2-for-2 effort and two runs scored. With her two-RBI effort in the nightcap, Jenkins has now pushed home multiple runs in five straight games.
Cox (4-1) was stellar in the circle, tossing a three-hit shutout to pick up her fourth win of the year. The Bumpass, Va. native fanned five batters in the victory.
Three batters tallied a hit for Arcadia (3-5) while starting pitcher Erin Wilson picked up the loss after allowing seven runs on nine hits over the first three innings.
Bridgewater is back in action on Tuesday when it hosts Southern Virginia for a twinbill. First pitch against the Knights is set for 3 p.m.
