Center Valley, PA (March 9, 2012) – The DeSales University softball team concluded its spring break trip on Thursday afternoon, splitting two games, to finish the eight game trip with a 2-6 overall record down south in Clermont, FL.  Below are brief recaps of each game the Bulldogs played during the trip.

Game One (Berry – 10, DeSales – 2)
The Bulldogs managed just two hits in their first game of the week, but led 2-1 after scoring in the top of the fifth, but Berry scored five times in the fifth and four more times in the sixth to win 10-2.  Senior Brianna Chilcoat had one of DSU's three hits and scored a run.  Freshman Taylor Kelly and Sarah Giammarese each had RBIs for DeSales.

Game Two (Emerson – 4, DeSales – 2)
DSU continued to struggle at the plate, managing just two hits in a 4-2 loss to Emerson.  Senior Katie Morrissey took the loss walking 13 in 6.1 innings pitched and striking out nine.  Chilcoat and T. Kelly had DSU's two hits.

Game Three (DeSales – 5, Northwestern (MN) – 3)
The Bulldogs got their first win of the season with a 5-3 victory over Northwestern (MN).  The Bulldogs never trailed after scoring twice in the first inning as junior Brittany Wilson earned the win, pitching four innings of relief allowing just one run and striking out four without a walk.  Junior Julie Brugger had two hits, a run scored, and two RBIs, while Chilcoat scored twice out of the lead-off spot in the order.

Game Four (Carroll – 10, DeSales – 3)
A six-run third inning by Carroll doomed DeSales in a 10-3 loss in the second game on Tuesday.  Morrissey took the loss allowing six earned runs over 2.1 innings pitched.  B. Wilson pitched well once again with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.  T. Kelly and Brugger each had two hits and T. Kelly scored twice in the loss.

Game Five (John Carroll – 9, DeSales – 0)
The Bulldog offense was blanked by the JCU pitching staff, registering just three hits as John Carroll scored twice in the first and five times in the second inning to take a comfortable 7-0 lead on DeSales and never looked back.  Morrissey once again struggled to find the strike zone, walking seven over 1.2 innings to suffer her third loss on the week.  Brugger, freshman Ericka Esposito, and senior Christine Petrilla had DSU's three hits.

Game Six (Marywood – 5, DeSales – 3)
Marywood scored three times in the first inning and twice more in the second inning on six walks and two hits to take a 5-0 lead and a Bulldogs rally fell short, 5-3.  Petrilla and freshman Rachel Vogel pitched well in relief of Morrissey who allowed the first four runs, totaling five innings of relief allowing just one run and three hits.  Brugger was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two doubles, while T. Kelly and Chilcoat each had one hit and one run scored.

Game Seven (DeSales – 11, Neumann – 7)
The DeSales offense exploded for 11 runs, including five in the fifth inning to break the game open in an 11-7 win over Neumann.  The top four hitters did most of the damage combining to go 10-for-18 with six runs scored and nine RBIs.  T. Kelly was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs, Chilcoat was 2-for-3 with three runs scored, and an RBI, Brugger was 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a three-run home run, and junior Courtney McKenna was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Petrilla earned the win in the circle.

Game Eight (Muhlenberg – 9, DeSales – 0)
The Bulldogs were blanked by local rival Muhlenberg College, managing just five hits in the loss.  Esposito took the loss in the circle allowing nine hits and six runs over 4.1 innings pitched.  Brugger had two of DSU's five hits.

For the week, Brugger batted .560 with four doubles, a home run, and eight RBIs.  T. Kelly batted .308 and Chilcoat led the way with eight runs scored and was a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts.  The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday, March 17th when they travel to Lebanon Valley College to take on LVC and SUNY-Cortland beginning at 1:00 pm.