With one down in the top of the seventh inning against Hartford on Saturday, junior infielder Stephanie Bielec ripped a triple down the right field line. The hit added an insurance run for the Binghamton women’s softball team in its 5-3 series-opening win and also set a new record for triples scored by BU in a single season (17).
Bielec’s record-setting hit and 4-for-4 performance highlighted the Bearcats’ first of three wins in their sweep of the Hawks (4-34, 1-9 America East) over the weekend. In Sunday’s doubleheader, BU (17-20, 7-3 AE) dominated last-place Hartford, taking the first game, 12-2, before winning the second, 5-0.
The Bearcats’ pitching staff turned in an impressive performance in the series, allowing just five runs over 20 innings. Senior pitcher Shelby Donhauser continued her stellar season, throwing the first complete-game shutout of her career in the series finale. She improved to 4-3 on the season and now leads the staff with a 3.64 ERA in 40 innings on the mound.
“We did a great job both on the mound and defensively this weekend,” said BU head coach Michelle Johnston, according to bubearcats.com. “We didn’t make a lot of mistakes and had a great presence from all of our pitchers.”
On the basepaths, another BU record was set by senior outfielder Gabby Bracchi, who snagged a program-high five bags in Sunday’s first game. With the series sweep, the Bearcats retained sole possession of second place in the AE and is just one game behind the conference-leading Maine Black Bears, who captured the championship title for the first time in program history last season.
Binghamton is set to return to the diamond on Tuesday in a doubleheader against nonconference opponent Hofstra. First pitches are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.