SALEM, Va. - Kaitlyn Tirona earned her 100th career hit as the No. 5 Eagles blanked the No. 8 Royals of Eastern Mennonite. The win is the first playoff victory for the Bridgewater College softball team since 2013.

The Basics

• Final Score: No. 5 Bridgewater 8, No. 8 Eastern Mennonite 0 (5 Innings)
• Records: No. 5 Bridgewater (24-18), No. 8 Eastern Mennonite (19-16-1)

How It Happened 

• The Royals walked lead-off hitter Torie Shifflett to start contest before giving up a Brooklynn Fridley triple and Sarah Wimer double to push the Eagles to an early 2-0 lead. Hannah Mahan completed a key throw to Wimer behind the plate to leave the Royals runless entering the bottom of the second
• Tirona started the bottom of the second with her 100th career hit, a single up the middle. She would score on a Shifflett double to center field for the 3-0 Eagle advantage
• Bridgewater piled on four runs in the bottom of the fourth in a frame that saw hits from Kathryn Thomas, Avery Pinder and Shifflett. The Eagles' final two runs of the frame were unearned after EMU committed an error that allowed Pinder to cross
• EMU walked Tirona to start the bottom of the fifth before advancing to second on a single from Mahan. The Royals walked Shifflett to leave the bases loaded for Fridley. Fridley delivered with a RBI single to right field to seal the five inning 8-0 victory for Bridgewater

Match Notes

• Shifflett, Fridley and Tirona led the Eagles' with two hits each followed by Wimer, Pinder and Mahan with one each
• Shifflett totaled three RBI with Fridley posting two
• Emma Killion pitched a complete game, allowing five hits and no runs. The sophomore struck out two batters
• The win is first postseason victory for Bridgewater since 2013. The current senior class of Shifflett, Pinder, Tirona and Wimer were a part of the first group of Eagles to reach the playoffs in 2019 since 2014, completing another milestone for the class. 

Up Next

• The No. 5 Eagles will play the loser of No. 3 Virginia Wesleyan and No. 2 Randolph-Macon tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem.