Softball Drops Game to Lock Haven

KUTZTOWN--The road to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional title got a lot tougher for the Bloomsburg University softball team after it lost 1-0 to Lock Haven on Saturday.

The Huskies, now 50-10, will have to win three games on Sunday, including two over Lock Haven, to advance to the NCAA championship round in Houston, Texas next week.

The winning run for Lock Haven, 46-6, came in the bottom of the seventh inning. After Bloomsburg's Ashley Lynn (Riverside/Danville) retired the first batters of the inning, Ilia Lopez reached on an error. Lopez then stole second and scored on Erica Eisenbise's single to left field.

The Huskies had a base runner in five of the game's seven innings, but could not anyone beyond second base. Bloomsburg's best chance to score came in the second inning when Nikki Shiko (Kulpmont/Southern Columbia) led off the inning with a double. However, Lock Haven's Kristen Erb then struck out the next three batters to end the threat. Erb finished the game with eight strikeouts.

Lynn was equally as tough for the Huskies allowing just one runner to reach third base prior to the game winning run and giving up just five hits, while walking just one and striking out one. Lynn was also helped by three double plays turned by the BU defense.

Bloomsburg will now face the winner of the Kutztown-California (PA) game on Sunday at 10 a.m. at Kutztown with the loser being eliminated.