Griffins freshman Devon Horner sizes up an approaching pitch. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

Balmy weather made for one of the nicest Saturdays in 2018 so far, and Chestnut Hill College softball fans didn’t mind spending five-and-a-half hours outdoors last weekend to watch their Griffins in a home doubleheader. The actual outcome of the two games was not quite so pleasing for the CHC faithful, as their team hung close in both contests for a good while, but gave up late runs that allowed the visiting Bloomfield College Bears to make off with a two-game sweep.

The Griffins got out to a 6-1 lead in the opener, but then their offense stalled and their New Jersey guests forced the game into extra innings and eventually won it in the 10th, 12-7. Chestnut Hill and Bloomfield were locked up at 5-5 four innings into the second contest, then the Bears stacked up five runs in the fifth and four more in the top of the seventh. CHC scored three times in its last turn at bat, but fell, 14-8.

The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference losses dropped the Griffins to 1-14 within the CACC and 1-21 overall, while the Bears ambled back to their campus just north of Newark with a record of 9-9, 9-15.

The week had begun pretty well for Chestnut Hill, as the squad secured its first victory of the season on Monday while splitting a CACC doubleheader with Nyack College.

Saturday’s doubleheader also began well, with a lone Bloomfield run in the top of the first answered by six CHC runs in the hosts’ first two turns at bat. Following a single by Alessandra Messina (a sophomore out of Lansdale Catholic) and a walk to junior Alex Sauer, junior Ariel Magee singled in the tying run.

A three-run homer to center by junior Brielle Riotte sent Chestnut Hill into the second inning with a 4-1 lead. In the home half of the second a two-out rally began with Messina’s second base hit of the day. Sauer sent a homer out to centerfield, and the Griffins held a commanding 6-1 advantage.

The Bears only managed one run over the next three innings, so the hosts were ahead 6-2 as the sixth frame got underway. Bloomfield climbed back in it with a two-run double, then added two more runs in the top of the sixth to draw even at 6-6. Magee led off the bottom half with a single and went to second on a wild pitch, but she was left stranded by three straight outs in the air.

After a 0-0 eighth inning, each side scored once in the ninth. Each team was now starting out with a runner already on second base, and for Chestnut Hill sophomore Cailey Stevenson got to third on a sacrifice bunt by Messina and then scored on a hit to right field by Sauer.

In the top of the 10th, though, a five-run spree by Bloomfield was capped off with a three-run triple. On the flip side, the Griffins had the bases loaded with one out, but then struck out and flied out to lose 12-7. Bears junior Lauren Booth (3K, 4BB) pitched nine and one third innings for the win. CHC used four pitchers in the contest and was outhit 22-10 overall.

Three of these same hurlers cycled through the Chestnut Hill circle in game two, along with junior Nichole Eberhard, who had faced Mount St. Joseph teams in high school while playing at St. Basil Academy. The visitors, on the other hand, went the whole way with senior Kiersten Coho from western Pennsylvania, who struck out six batters and walked three. The gap in total hits was not as great as in game one, with Bloomfield emerging with a 17-11 edge.

After the Bears went up 2-0 in the top of the first, the home team got one back in its first turn with the sticks. Messina and Magee drew walks, and although Bloomfield got a force-out at second each time when Sauer and Riotte put the ball in play, Messina moved around to score.

CHC remained one run behind after the bottom of the second inning, matching Bloomfield’s two runs in the top half. With sophomore Giovanna Lorine on first base through a fielder’s choice, junior Marissa Maioran laid down a bunt and the Bears tossed the ball out of play. This got Lorine to third, and she scored on a second Bloomfield throwing error when Jocelyn Porrino (a senior out of Plymouth Whitemarsh) hit the ball to short. A double steal got a second run home to make it 3-4.

The Griffins then went ahead in the third inning, beginning the home half with a walk for Sauer and a single by Riotte. When freshman Devon Horner hit a grounder, the visitors got an out at second, but Sauer came home. During a long at-bat for junior Kaya Swanek, Horner advanced to third, and when Swanek grounded out, Horner scored to put the Griffins up 5-4.

Two base hits, the second for an RBI, allowed the Bears to tie the game in the top of the fourth, and for the next few innings the visitors’ Koho bore down in the circle and CHC struggled at the plate.

In a pivotal fifth batting stint for Bloomfield, a two-run double, two RBI singles and a bases-loaded walk resulted in a 10-5 lead for the visitors. The Griffins’ fortunes continued to decline as the Bears brought in four more runs in seventh.

The home team’s hitters now faced a nine-run deficit as they came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but at least they made the final tally a bit more respectable.

The top of the order was up, and hits by Messina and Sauer were sandwiched around a pop-up for the first out. Sauer’s shot hit the pitcher, and then an errant throw got her to second base as Messina went to third. Both scored when Riotte drove the ball hard just to the right of second base.

Stevenson came in to run for Riotte, staying put for a fly-out to centerfield and then going around to third on a single to left field by Swanek. Lorine then hit to the same field for an RBI that made it 14-8, and when Maioran knocked a chopper up the middle, the Griffins had the bases loaded. On the next play, though, the game ended with a ground-out.