Hart's career-high eight K's power Bulldogs to 9-6 win over Providence

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bolstered by 11 hits and a career-high eight-strikeout performance from junior hurler Brittany Hart (North Andover, Mass.), the Bryant University softball team picked up its first-ever victory over intrastate rival Providence College, as the Bulldogs built an early eight-run lead and held on late to down the Friars, 9-6, on Tuesday afternoon at the Bryant Softball Complex at Conaty Park.

The Bulldogs improve to 13-19 on the season by virtue of the victory, while the Friars fall to 14-26 overall.

The hits came early and often for Bryant, as the home side used a seven-run, seven-hit first inning to take a commanding lead before holding an 8-0 advantage into the fourth. Providence would make it a three-run game late in regulation, but the Bulldogs would eventually prevail by three runs at the end.

That early run support proved to be more than enough for Hart, who settled in for her best outing of the season and one of her finest in her career, as the right-hander fanned a career-high eight batters while walking just two and scattering nine hits to improve to 6-5 on the season.

Her counterpart, Alicia Grosso, was tagged for seven runs on as many hits before being relieved by Corinne Clauss in the bottom of the first. Clauss wound up tossing 5 and 1/3 innings while allowing two runs on four hits and totaled two strikeouts and two walks.

Nearly every Bulldog starter recorded a hit on the day, as Bryant came two hits shy of its season-high 13 hits set against Canisius earlier in the year. Sophomores Kendall Corder (Carmichael, Calif.) and Lauren Guy (La Habra, Calif.), and seniors Laura Bowen (Hudson, Mass.) and Lindsay Martin (Methuen, Mass.) all finished with two hits apiece, and three other Bulldogs recorded one hit to account for the offensive outburst.

The action began in the bottom of the first after Guy led off the inning with a double to center. After moving to third on a sacrifice, classmate Aubrey Mable (Aurora, Colo.) brought in Guy with an infield single to put the Bulldogs ahead by a run. Mable would eventually double that lead after crossing the plate on a suicide squeeze laid down by sophomore Taylor Bell (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.).

Corder put the Bulldogs up by three with a single to center, and in the next at-bat Bell would score on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 in favor of the Black and gold. That prompted back-to-back singles by senior Lauren McCart (Voorhees, N.J.) and Martin to run up the lead to 5-0, and Guy rounded out the inning with a base hit to center that pushed home both McCart and Martin, giving the Bulldogs a seven-run cushion after an inning.

In the third, the Bulldogs chipped in one more run after Corder doubled to deep center to lead off the frame. A sacrifice bunt would move her to third before McCart drove her home by means of a sacrifice fly to make it 8-0.

The Friars got aboard with a run in the top of the fourth after back-to-back doubles scored Kristie Dederick, but the Bulldogs responded with one more score in the bottom of the frame after Bowen came in to score on a sacrifice fly.

Trailing by a 9-1 margin, the Friars tacked on three more runs in the top of the fifth to stave off a mercy-rule defeat, as an error at second scored two runs for the visitors to make it 9-4. In the top of the seventh, PC added two final last-gasp runs on a two-run homer off the bat of Jen Abrams, but junior Jennifer Jacob (Deer Park, N.Y.) came into the game for the hold and closed it out by means of a timely double play to pin down the victory for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs continue non-conference action on Thursday (April 19) when they travel to Stony Brook University for a doubleheader slated to begin at 2 p.m.

For continuing coverage of Bryant University softball, check back online at www.bryantbulldogs.com; also be sure to follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.