May 7, 2009

BEVERLY, Mass. - Coast Guard Academy secured just one hit against a pair of Bridgewater State College pitchers, but that hit proved sufficient as sophomore Becky Miller (Norco, Calif.) belted a three-run homerun to help lead the Bears past BSC, 3-1, in NCAA Tournament play on Thursday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. Freshman Hayley Feindel (River Ridge, La.) improved her incredible overall record to 32-4 as she went the distance, allowing just one run while striking out nine.

Coast Guard Academy broke a scoreless tie in the second inning with Miller's three-run shot to deep center. The table was set for the Bears' shortstop after teammate Courtney Wolf (Fredericksburg, Md.) worked a leadoff walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt from Colleen Denny (Clarence, N.Y.). Another free pass issued by Bridgewater starter Alyssa Verronneau (Acushnet, Mass.) allowed Maddie Buchert (Metairie, La.) to trot to first, before having the bases wiped clean by Miller's round-tripper.

The score would remain 3-0 in favor of Coast Guard until the top of the sixth when Bridgewater State's Allie LeBlanc (Somerset, Mass.) connected on a 1-and-1 pitch and drove the ball to centerfield for a solo homerun. The late Bridgewater charge wouldn't be enough, however, as Feindel recovered from the homerun by striking out Rachael Sprague (Duxbury, Mass.) and then forced Lauren Cucinotta (Franklin, Mass.) to groundout back to the pitcher's mound. Feindel's stuff stayed sharp in the top of the seventh as she retired the Bears in order to take the victory.

Bridgewater State notched eight hits on the afternoon and left five stranded in the 3-1 setback. Despite the loss, the Bears got an outstanding pitching effort from both Verronneau and Stephanie Pierce (Worcester, Mass.), with Pierce tossing four innings of no run, not hit ball.

Coast Guard will now await the winner of Thursday's late-afternoon game between second-seeded Rhode Island College and seventh-seeded Springfield College. The Bears will have the victor at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Bridgewater State slips into the loser's bracket where it will take on the loser between the Anchorwomen and the Pride on Friday at 12:00 p.m.