In a brief respite from Ivy League play, the softball team extended its losing streak to 13 games Wednesday night after dropping a pair of road games to Army, 10–2 and 8–0.

“We had some really good at bats today; even when we were down in the count we fought back to get a walk or a base hit,” team captain Christy Nelson ’13 said. “We just couldn’t string the hits together.”

Game one of the doubleheader took a drastic turn for the worse in the second inning. The Black Knights broke out for four runs in the second and one in the third. Then, a walk-off single from Marina Northup brought in two runs to clinch the mercy rule victory for Army (26–20, 8–8 Patriot) in the fourth.

Starting pitcher Chelsey Dunham ’14 took the mound for the Bulldogs (8–34, 3–13 Ivy) in the midst of a rough patch, having allowed at least nine hits in each of her previous five starts. She got off to a solid beginning, surrendering only one hit in the first three innings. After third baseman Hannah Brennan ’15 hit a solo shot in the top of the fourth to tie the score, the game was tied at one.

“We definitely felt like we were in the game,” Nelson said. “We wanted to bust the game open, but on defense we made too many errors and that put us too deep in a hole to come back.”

From then on, the Yale defense struggled mightily, committing five errors in the final three innings. A two-out error by shortstop Brittany Labbadia ’16 plated two in the fourth for Army, and after Nelson singled home catcher Sarah Onorato ’15 in the fifth to cut the gap to one, a throwing error combined with a two-RBI double made it a 6–2 ballgame.

The Black Knights then ended the game early in the sixth with four more runs, all of which were unearned. Dunham and Kylie Williamson ’15, who relieved Dunham midway through the sixth, combined to allow eight hits and 10 runs, but only two of those 10 were earned.

“We’ve had pitching, fielding and hitting at different points in the season, but what it comes down to is putting them together,” Onorato said. “[That] is something we’ve struggled to do consistently.”

The nightcap unfolded in the same manner for the Elis. While Onorato led off the game with a single, extending her hitting streak to seven games, the Bulldogs managed just two more hits all game. Army rained down 13 hits over four innings to rack up eight runs and again invoke the mercy rule after the top of the fifth inning.

The Elis have only six games remaining, including four games against Brown on Friday and Saturday.

“Our team goal is to sweep Brown,” Dunham said. “We have the talent and skill to do so — we just need to play to our potential.”

Senior night for the team is this Friday. First pitch from DeWitt Family Field is at 2 p.m.

GRANT BRONSDON