MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – On the first day of competition at the Snowbird Invitational, the Bridgewater Eagles softball team held off a late-inning rally to defeat Johnson and Wales (R.I.) in the opener before capping off the day with a victory over Ursinus.

Bridgewater (2-2) took down Johnson and Wales in the opener behind a 2-1 victory before taking it to Ursinus in the nightcap with a 7-4 win.

The Eagles wasted little time in taking the lead in the opener. Senior Kasey Anderson took advantage of an error on the shortstop to reach first base before swiping second to put a runner in scoring position. Freshman Lauren Jenkins belted a single to the right-field gap, scoring Anderson in the process to put Bridgewater out in front, 1-0.

Bridgewater pitcher Brianna Cox put the Johnson and Wales order down, 1-2-3, in the first and allowed a base hit in the second before the Eagles offense got back on the board in the third. Samantha Fridley reached via a leadoff walk and was pushed to second base on a Brooke Throckmorton groundout. Senior Brea Hinegardner popped out for the second out of the inning. Freshman Samantha Bird proceeded to reach base on an error, which allowed Fridley to score, putting the Eagles up by a 2-0 score.

The Eagles held the Wildcats in check over the middle innings and held a 2-0 lead as the game shifted to the seventh.

Johnson and Wales wouldn't go away without a fight in the final frame. Kaycee Babineau belted a one-out single and moved to second on a groundout before heading to third base on a Bridgewater error. Babineau scored during the ensuing at-bat on a Jenkins wild pitch but Jenkins recorded the final out by striking out pinch hitter Brooke Lieberman to finish off a 2-1 victory in the opener.

Three Eagles tallied a hit in the opener while Jenkins led the way with a 1-for-3 game and one RBI.

Cox earned the win after allowing no runs on one hit over the first five innings of play. Jenkins earned the save after allowing one run on two hits across a pair of relief innings.

Johnson and Wales was led by three players with a hit each.

Tayla Gardner was tagged with the loss after allowing two runs, both unearned, on three hits.

Bridgewater's offense found its rhythm and the Eagles capitalized on a trio of Ursinus miscues in game number two en route to a 7-4 victory.

Anderson started the second game in the same way that she started the first by reaching on an error. The senior then moved to second on a passed ball before being driven home on a Jenkins single for a 1-0 Bridgewater lead.

Both teams threatened in the second before the Eagles tacked on four runs in the third. Following a lead-off groundout, back-to-back walks from Fridley and Throckmorton put runners at first and second prior to a Hinegardner single loading the bases. Freshman Lacey Shifflett pushed home two runs with a single to right field, extending the Bridgewater lead to 3-0. Junior Amanda Lutz followed with a double, scoring pinch runner Elizabeth Keech and Hinegardner, to hand the Eagles a 5-0 advantage.

Bridgewater pushed its lead to 6-0 in the fourth when Hinegardner plated Jenkins on a sacrifice fly. Ursinus responded by trimming the Bridgewater lead in half in the home part of the fourth. A Shelby Edelson double to the right-field gap scored two runners before Edelson sprinted home on a passed ball to cut the lead to 6-3 after four complete.

After a scoreless fifth, Bridgewater added an insurance run in the sixth on a solo shot from Hinegardner to lead off the inning, pushing the Eagles out to a 7-3 lead.

Ursinus added a single run in the seventh but it wasn't enough as the Eagles forced a groundout to secure a 7-4 victory to get back to .500 on the year.

Jenkins led the Bridgewater offense with a 3-for-5 game while Hinegardner and Lutz added two-hit contests. Bridgewater's offense exploded for 13 hits in the win.

Lutz picked up the win after allowing three runs on five hits across four innings of work. Haley Harris secured the save after allowing just one run on two hits over the final three innings of play.

Seven players recorded a hit each for Ursinus while Zoe Heinke picked up the loss.

Bridgewater is back in action on Monday morning with games against Dakota St. and Swarthmore. First pitch against Dakota St. is set for 9:30 a.m. while the Eagles will tangle with Swarthmore at 11:30 a.m.