MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Bridgewater College softball team ended its week at the Snowbird Softball Tournament by winning its last two games to transition into the conference season with a 5-3 record.

Bridgewater defeated St. Joseph's 7-6 in extra innings, and followed that with an emphatic 15-1 victory over Delaware Valley.

The first game against St. Joseph's College started off with a quick first inning as Brianna Cox struck out two batters, but the Eagles' offense fell flat as their two batted balls were caught in the outfield. The second inning seemed to follow a similar pattern as Bridgewater had a quick two outs but Ryan Kirtner managed to keep the team alive as she got on base with a single.

Bridgewater had a runner on as Brooke Throckmorton stepped up to the plate. Throckmorton was nearly out at first base but was spared as the ball tipped off of the first baseman's glove, allowing Kirtner to score home and land the Eagles on the board with their first run.

The Eagles continued to build their lead as Samantha Bird scored on a single by Rayann Foltz and Jen Balcom reached second on an error to plate Throckmorton, locking down a solid 3-0 lead. Hannah Nyquist's turn at bat resulted in Foltz reaching home before Balcom took advantage of a dropped ball by the catcher to advance home for a 5-0 edge.

Nyquist scored the last run of the inning on a single reached by Cox and Bridgewater went into the third inning up 6-0.

The next few innings remained scoreless as each team tallied fast outs until St. Joseph's had two runs in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-2.

The Eagles held strong in the sixth inning but a home run by Gianna Gulli in the top of the seventh scored two more runs for St. Joseph's. Lindsey Corriss would lessen the gap to 6-5 for the Golden Eagles before Megan Leun scored the final run to tie up the score.

Despite Bridgewater's efforts, the Eagles couldn't get a run and were forced to head into an eighth inning. The Eagles collected the three outs they needed to return to the plate. Bridgewater managed to load the bases with two outs and a single by Amanda Lutz sent Bird home with the clinching run and gave Bridgewater the 7-6 win.

Foltz went 2-for-3 at the plate and tallied an RBI and one run while Bird was 2-for-4 with two runs. Cox pitched six innings in the circle, striking out six batters and walking one.

Megan Leun was 2-for-3 for St. Joseph's and notched one RBI and one run. Gianna Gulli went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs.

The second game against Delaware Valley College began on an even note as Balcom scored for the Eagles on a ground rule double by Cox while the Aggies also scored in the first inning.

Bridgewater tallied four runs in the following inning as several walks on loaded bases brought in three batters while Bird scored on a bunt from Foltz to build a 4-0 lead.

The Eagles took advantage of wild pitches to advance bases with Balcom landing on third while Foltz ran home, before Balcom brought the lead to 6-0 on a single by Nyquist.

The Eagles managed to load the bases, and Hannah Trala stepped up to the plate and singled to left field to bring home Nyquist and Jessica Dawson for an 8-0 score. Bridgewater capped off the third inning with a 9-0 lead as Karie Burgess notched the Eagles' final run on a wild pitch.

Delaware Valley could not get another run and Bridgewater continued to dominate in the top of the fourth as several wild pitches earned the Eagles a massive 15-1 edge, which ended the game after completion of the fifth inning.

Balcom was 3-for-3 with four scored runs while Nyquist was 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Trala pitched all five innings in the circle and was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

The Eagles return home on Wednesday when they open conference play in a doubleheader against Shenandoah University at 3 p.m.