TITUSVILLE, FL- The Bay College Norse Softball Team finished the Florida trip on Friday by beating the Chesapeake Skip Jacks, 9-1.

The Norse got a complete-game pitching performance from Eden Oswald (FR, Bark River, MI) as she scattered three base hits and struck out ten batters.

"Throw hard and try to win," Oswald said of her game plan. "My fastball, and a little bit of my drop curve, but not great. The defense behind me was phenomenal, the outfielders and infielders, everyone does their job."

"We're off to a strong start to the season and we're excited to keep it going," Norse Head Coach Heidi Charon said. "This is a really, really special team, and I've enjoyed spending time with them this week. I don't think we're hating each other yet, even though it's been a long week! So, that's a good sign."

The Skipjacks took a 1-0 lead on a walk to Jozie Wilson (FR, Tilghman Island, MD) and an RBI double by Brea Bishop (SO, Greensboro, MD) brought the run home. But Bay got even in the bottom of the inning as Kaitlyn Hardwick (SO, Gladstone, MI) singled past the shortstop and Maddy Griffin (SO, Escanaba, MI) pushed one past the left fielder for an RBI double.

The Norse took the lead in the second inning as Morgan Letteriello (FR, Gladstone, MI) led off with a hit, was bunted to second by Beth Gannigan (SO, Coleman, WI), and scored on a wild pitch.

Heather Bergstrom (FR, Escanaba, MI) led off the fourth inning with a double and eventually scored on an error to make it 3-1, then in the fifth inning, Oswald led off with a single, and after another Hardwick hit, scored on a sacrifice fly by Griffin.

The Norse put the game away with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Gannigan getting an RBI single up the middle, and Taylor Hunter (SO, Gladstone, MI) contributed an RBI with a grounder to third. The game ended when Bergstrom ripped a double with the bases loaded, scoring two runs to make it a 9-1 final.

Hardwick led the way at the plate by going 3-for-4, scoring two runs, from the number two spot in the batting order. Griffin and Bergstrom both had two runs batted in.

Bishop took the loss on the mound for the Skipjacks (0-3), allowing all nine runs, with just three of those runs earned.

"This is huge," Charon said. "We've got a big regional seeding tournament coming next week in Minnesota, and we're excited to be going into that strong."

Bay College (7-7) finished the Florida trip with a 6-6 record.

Story by Jack Hall, RRN Sports