Photo: St. Bonaventure Athletics
BY DAN GEYER, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The St. Bonaventure softball focuses on a solid finish to a tough season. With the second-place Fordham Rams in town for a three-game set, the Bonnies looked to play spoiler with a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday.
The Rams, however, had other plans. They took two of three games from the Bonnies.
The Bonnies (2-29, 1-16 A-10) struck first in the second inning on an RBI single by senior outfielder Broke Bobbey.
Freshman catcher Eleanor Park and senior outfielder Kennedy Haberl gave the Bonnies a 2-0 lead.
A wild pitch allowed Fordham (22-21-1, 12-6 A-10) to cut the lead to one in the top of the third inning before a sacrifice fly by catcher Nicki Sudall tied the game.
The Bonnies retook the lead in the fourth as Bobbey drove Haberl and Park in with an RBI double. Olivia Whitecar followed with an RBI groundout, scoring sophomore shortstop Reanna Perkins.
The Rams took control of the game with a five-run fifth inning. Despite Haberl scoring on a single by Perkins, the Rams added another run and Despite Haberl scoring on a single by Perkins, the Rams added another run in the seventh, andBonaventure fell 8-6.
Senior Emily Phelan started in the circle in Game 1, striking out five batters in five innings. Bobbey went 3-4 at the plate with two doubles and four RBIs, while Park went 2-for-2 with two doubles.In Game two,, the Bonnies had to play a comeback as Fordham took an early 2-0 lead. A throwing error by Fordham’s Sudall allowed Bobbey to trim the Bonaventure deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the first.
After Bailey Enoch put the Rams up 3-1 on a throwing error, the Bonnies rallied back in the bottom of the third as a single from Bobbey allowed Haberl to score and cut the deficit to 3-2. Bonaventure took a 4-3 lead as a single by junior third baseman Emily McKenna scored Haberl and freshman outfielder Sydney DeGram.
Despite being outhit 13-5, the Bonnies’ defense held strong as Bonaventure won their first home game of the year and first win since a 5-4 victory over Rhode Island on March 25.
Freshman pitcher Kendull Stull earned her first career collegiate victory in the circle, striking out and walking two in her complete game effort.
At the plate, Haberl went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while senior Elyse Graham went 1-for-2 with a double.
The Rams spoiled any chance the Bonnies of taking the series on Sunday as a three-run second and nine-run fourth inning set the tone as Fordham rolled to a 17-1 win in five innings in Game 3.
Despite the loss, Phelan’s reached 300 total career strikeouts,placing her third in Bonaventure history. Freshman Kylie Bickert, Stull, senior Tori McGraw and freshman Kaylee Grace saw action in the circle. Haberl and Kymora Wang led the Bonnies at the plate, each going 1-for-2, with Wang plating a double and Haberl’s RBI double scoring Emily McKenna.
The Bonnies traveled to Dayton Wednesday and dropped both games of the doubleheader, losing game one 6-0 and game two by a score of 9-1 in six innings.
In game one, the Flyers took a 1-0 on an RBI single by Dee Dee Hyde and never looked back as the Bonnies (3-31, 2-17 A-10) were unable to break through on the scoreboard as they were outhit 7-3 and committed four errors.
Kennedy Haberl, Eleanor Park and Kymora Wang each were 1-3, with Haberl and Park each recording a double, while Emily Phelan struck out three and walked two in 5 1⁄3 innings.
The Bonnies (3-32, 2-18 A-10) struck first in game two as Kymora Wang recorded her first career home run to give the Bonnies a 1-0 lead. The Flyers would take over from there, scoring eight unanswered runs, including four in the sixth to force the run rule after six innings.
Senior Tori McGraw started in the circle in game two, striking out five and walking seven in five innings. Wang and Bobbey recorded both hits for the Bonnies in game two.
St. Bonaventure travels to Fairfax, Virginia for a weekend set with the George Mason Patriots beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game Sunday.
First pitch in Fairfax is scheduled for noon on Saturday. First pitch Sunday is scheduled for noon and will air on ESPN+.
geyerd18@bonaventure.edu
