NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The George Fox University Bruins' softball team competed in their second day of action at the Cross Bay Crash, picking up their first win of the tournament against the No. 16 Pfeiffer Falcons, 6-2. The win was their first win against a nationally ranked opponent since 2023. In their second game of the day, the fell to the No. 7 Christopher Newport Captains, 1-5.
How It Happened – Game One
Tinley Taylor got the offense started in the first at-bat of the game, hitting a single to center field to put herself on the basepaths with no outs. After a strikeout and pop-out,
Bethany Wilkes launched a ball over the left field fence for a home run, scoring Taylor and herself to give the Bruins a pair of runs. Fox turned a slick 5-4-3 double play to end the home half of the inning with the Bruins up, 2-0.
After a pitching change for the Falcons in the third inning, the Bruins promptly loaded the bases with three straight singles with one out. However, Fox was unable to bring anyone home, as a strikeout and a fielder's choice ended the inning. Fox pitcher
Allison Heater got out of a jam herself in the bottom half of the third, getting a pair of outs with runners in scoring position to send the game to the fourth with GFU's lead intact.
The Bruins added another run in the fifth inning, after
Sydney Sandifer hit a single up the middle, and stole second before having a pinch runner come in with
Sharon Tomei up to bat. Tomei then hit a single up the middle that scored the runner from second, giving GFU a 3-0 lead at the end of the top half of the fifth. The Bruins scored again in the top of the sixth after Kylie Harris was brought home from second by
Nicole Campa after Harris hit a lead-off double. Going into the bottom half of the sixth George Fox was up, 4-0.
In the bottom half of the sixth, the Falcons put some pressure on the Bruins, as they hit a pair of home runs in the frame. First, a solo homer with no outs, followed by another solo shot with two away that cut GFU's lead to just 4-2. The Bruins got out of the inning without any more damage, sending them into a pivotal seventh inning.
In the final inning of the game, Fox's veteran leaders stepped up, as Sandifer and Tomei hit game-clinching, back-to-back home runs that brought the Bruins' lead back up to four, pushing the score to 6-2. In the bottom of the seventh, Heater reentered the pitching circle after being subbed out in the sixth and shut down the Falcons, clinching the win for the Bruins, their first against a ranked opponent since a win over No. 7 Linfield in 2023.
How It Happened – Game Two
Offense was hard to come by for Fox in the second game of the day, as the pitcher for the No. 7 Christopher Newport Captains, Kate Agler, was on point the entire game. The Captains' offense got a pair of runners across the plate in the first making the score 2-0 early.
The Bruins added a highlight to their weekend in the second inning: with one out and a runner on first, pitcher Bailey Farrimound struck out the batter at the plate, while at the same time, the runner on first tried to take second base, and then was caught by Sandifer from behind the dish in a strike-them-out-throw-them-out moment. The double play ended the second inning with neither team scoring in the second frame.
The Captains did damage in the third inning, first getting runners on first and second with nobody out, scoring both on an RBI double. After a hit batter put another runner on first, the Bruins brought in a new pitcher, Nicole Lendendecker, to close out the inning. Ledendecker picked up a pair of strikeouts to get two quick outs, but the Captains loaded the bases with a walk, followed by a single that scored a run before the Bruins threw out a runner at the plate to end the inning before any more runs could score. However, at the end of the third, the Bruins were down 5-0.
After a scoreless fourth inning, the Bruins got their first and only run of the game in the fifth inning, as
Grace Wilson hit an RBI single that scored Campa from second after she had hit a double down the line.
Ledendecker settled into a groove for the rest of the game, holding the Captains hitless for the rest of the game and striking out two more batters along the way, however, the Bruins' offense was unable to capitalize on her performance, as Agler had a similarly stellar final innings. With one out in the top of the seventh inning – the last chance for the Bruins' bats –
Kayla Mashino picked up a base hit to give the Bruins one last chance to rally, however, Fox hit into a double play that ended the game, with the Captains winning 5-1.
Top Performances
Sydney Sandifer and
Sharon Tomei each went 3-4 from the plate in game one, and each had home runs.
Allison Heater threw six scoreless innings, striking out two and picking up her first win of the season, and Nicole Lendendecker threw four scoreless with four strikeouts in game two.
Coach's Thoughts
"Our pitchers threw well today against a couple of really good hitting teams, and we had really good at bats all day long," Bruin head coach
Nathan Ohta said, "That was a good win for us. We are getting better every time out, and I'm pleased with the improvements we are making."
What It Means
The Bruins now sit at 5-4, heading into day three of the tournament after picking up their first tournament win. Pfieffer now sits at 12-6, and CNU now sits at 13-1.
What Comes Next
The Bruins play another ranked opponent on Saturday, March, 15th, facing off against #6 Virginia Wesleyan at 9:30 a.m.
