Yale Athletics

The Yale softball team fell behind early and failed to recover as it dropped a nonconference matchup with Sacred Heart. The Bulldogs gave up seven runs in the second inning and the deficit proved insurmountable as they ultimately lost 8–0 in their third defeat by eight runs this season.

Exactly a week after a dominant 8–0 win against Quinnipiac, the Elis (8–26, 4–11 Ivy) got a taste of their own medicine as they suffered a defeat by the same score at the hands of the Pioneers (24–15, 6–2 NEC). Yale is not only in the midst of a four-game losing streak, but also has endured a stretch of offensive futility, scoring just three runs in those four games.

“We just have to put this one behind us and focus on one pitch and one game at a time,” pitcher Terra Jerpbak ’19 said. “We’re looking forward to taking on Brown this weekend on our Alumni and Senior day.”

After Yale failed to score in the first two innings, the Pioneers took over, scoring seven runs on six hits to jump out to a commanding lead in the bottom half of the second frame. Three Eli errors helped Sacred Heart jump start its offense, as the team allowed six unearned runs. Pioneer Lindsey Spitz scored the first run of the game purely due to Bulldog miscues. She reached first and got to third on a pair of Yale errors, before finally scoring on a wild pitch. The second runner to score, Cierra Casale, benefitted from Yale blunders as well. She reached first on an error by pitcher Terra Jerpbak ’19 and ended up scoring after the next player at bat, Jessica Dubbioso, doubled to right field.

Yale was unable to stop the bleeding after this disastrous start to the bottom of the second. Another double by Hailey Desrosiers, this time to center field, scored Dubbioso to make it 3–0. Hanna Errico, pinch-running for Desrosiers, advanced to third on a throwing error, and scored on the next play after yet another hit by the Pioneers, a single to right field.

The score, which stretched the Bulldog deficit to 4–0, ended Jerpbak’s day, as pitcher Mary Baumann ’20 came in on relief. The Bulldogs finally got a second out on Baumann’s first pitch, but with runners on second and third base she was unable to shut the Pioneers down before they extended their lead.

A single scored Kelyn Fillmore to increase the lead even further and then Baumann walked Spitz to load the bases. A double plated two more runs to make it 7–0, before the Elis finally got the desperately needed third out to close out the inning.

The Elis, badly needing a response on offense to start a comeback attempt, mustered only one hit in the third inning and none in the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Pioneers put an exclamation point on their victory when Caroline Kruger homered to left field to make the score 8–0. With the Bulldogs unable to get anything going in the fifth, recording just one hit, the game ended at five innings as the mercy rule sent Yale off the diamond early.

“Today was a tougher day than we would have liked it to be as we head into our second to last weekend of Ivy play,” right fielder Sydney Ginsberg ’18 said. “Though I am confident that we can shake off today’s loss, regroup and surge forward to beat Brown on senior weekend this weekend.”

The Bulldogs next play Brown in a three-game series this weekend, which will be Yale’s last home games of the season.

asha Galay | marie.galay@yale.edu .

MASHA GALAY