Senior pitcher Mallory Tomaschik struck out a career-high 15 hitters on Monday. She has an 1.88 ERA and 114 strikeouts this season.
The Bloomsburg University softball got dominant pitching performances from seniors Mallory Tomaschik and Taylor Parker en route to a doubleheader sweep of visiting Goldey-Beacom College on Monday afternoon at Jan M. Hutchinson Field. The Huskies won game one, 6-0, and then needed only five innings in game two to post an 8-0 shutout victory. With the sweep, Bloomsburg improved to 25-15 overall while the Lightning fell to 12-28 overall on the season. The Huskies have now won three straight games.
Tomaschik and Parker combined for 12 shutout innings on Monday afternoon, allowing one hit and one walk, while recording 21 strikeouts. In game one, Tomaschik struck out a career-high 15 batters and allowed only a leadoff single to Paulynn Mao in the top of the second inning. The first ten outs of the game recorded by Tomaschik came via strikeout. She improved to 10-7 on the season. Parker, meanwhile, tossed a five-inning no-hitter in game two – the second no-hitter of her career. She did not walk a batter and struck out six to improve to 13-5 on the year.
“With this being [Mallory and I’s] senior season, it’s awesome that we are dominating,” Parker said after Bloomsburg’s sweep of Goldey-Beacom on Monday. “We are going to keep competing and battling, and hopefully it leads to winning another PSAC Championship.”
Parker also hit a pair of two-run home runs on the afternoon, one in each game. She currently leads the team with eight home runs this season.
In game one, the Huskies provided all the offense that Tomaschik would need in the bottom of the third inning. Sophomore Taylor Winkelman drove home the first run with an RBI single that scored senior Anna McElroy, who earlier reached on a single. Parker then belted a two-run home run to left-center field to give Bloomsburg a 3-0 lead.
The Huskies doubled their lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Freshman Kelsey Impink got things started with a single to left field and then advanced to second base when Tomaschik was hit by a pitch. Junior Maggie Hall sacrificed both runners over, but also reached when the throw to first was dropped. Impink came around to score on the play to give the Huskies a 4-0 lead. McElroy followed with an RBI single that scored Tomaschik for a 5-0 advantage. Following a pitching change, Winkelman plated Bloomsburg’s final run of game one on a squeeze bunt that scored Hall.
Not much occurred over the final two and a-half innings. Goldey-Beacom had just two hitters reach base on a hit-by-pitch and a walk while the Huskies were able to only muster hits from senior Holly Peacock and junior Lindsay Nemeth.
Impink and McElroy each had two of Bloomsburg’s nine hits in the opener.
Once again, in game two, the Huskies waited until the third inning to dent the scoreboard. Parker helped herself with a one-out RBI single to center field to drive home junior Emily Mayhew from second base. Mayhew had earlier reached on a fielder’s choice and then advanced to second on a single by Winkelman.
The Huskies added a run to their lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when sophomore Marissa Shelhamer scored on an RBI single by junior Bridget Casey.
Then, in the fifth inning, the Bloomsburg offense exploded.
Winkelman got things started with a double to left field and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Parker then launched her second two-run home run of the day to double the Huskies’ lead to 4-0. Peacock started another rally with a single to center and then reached third base on a double by sophomore Alexa Erney. Shelhamer plated both runs with a two-run double to left center to extend the Huskies’ lead to 6-0. Two batters later, Nemeth was put on first base after being hit by a pitch. Casey followed with a fly out to center field but an errant throw back into the infield allowed Shelhamer to score and Nemeth, representing the winning run, advanced to second base on the miscue. Mayhew ended the contest with an RBI single that scored Nemeth and gave Bloomsburg their third consecutive victory.
Parker, along with the no-hitter in the circle, was a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI in game two. Shelhamer, Winkelman, and Casey each added a pair of hits in the win.
Coming up this weekend, the softball team will play two doubleheaders to close out the regular season. On Friday, April 28, the Huskies will travel to the University of Pitt-Johnstown for a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m. On Saturday, April 29, Bloomsburg will host Lock Haven for a doubleheader at Jan M. Hutchinson Field beginning at 1:00 p.m. As of Wednesday, April 26, Lock Haven is two games behind Bloomsburg in the PSAC Central division standings.
“We always have good games against [Lock Haven],” Tomaschik said. “We always want to beat them, and they always give us a good competition. We look forward to playing them this weekend.”
The Huskies, who have clinched a spot in the conference playoffs, will then head to the PSAC Championships, which begin on Wednesday, May 3, in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.