Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Freshman Cierra Stinson was 4-for-6 with a double and home run against Brookdale.
BEL AIR, Md.—The Harford softball team nearly upset Division-III No. 1 Brookdale as it fell to the Jersey Blues (21-4), 9-8, in game two of a doubleheader on Friday at Harford Softball Field. The Blues also blanked the Owls, 6-0, in game one.
Game two saw Brookdale take a 4-0 lead in the first, but the Fighting Owls (7-11) added four runs of its own in the bottom of the inning thanks to two Brookdale errors and a two-run RBI double from freshman Mariah Ripken (Havre de Grace, Md./Havre de Grace/Kutztown).
The offensive output continued into the second for both teams, with the Blues tallying three runs and Harford scoring twice to make it a one-run game, 7-6, before freshman Cierra Stinson's (Nottingham, Md./Mercy) solo homer in the fourth knotted the score and a Brookdale error in the fifth gave the Owls an 8-7 lead.
An Owl error started the sixth inning, putting the winning run at the plate and a two-out home run gave Brookdale two unearned runs and the 9-8 lead, which they would hold on the way to the game two victory.
Game one saw just seven Owl batters reach base on five hits, a walk and a fielder's choice as Kaitlyn Svenson earned the shutout win for Brookdale, striking out three and surrendering five hits in seven innings on the way to the 6-0 decision.
Stinson led the Owls on the day, going 4-for-6 with three runs a double, a home run, an RBI and two walks, while Ripken and freshman Natalie Baker (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen were tabbed with the losses. Ripken allowed six runs (five earned) on 11 hits and struck out four in seven innings during game one, while Baker gave up nine (seven earned) on 13 hits and fanned three batters in seven innings in game two.