The Brown softball team dropped a midweek contest to crosstown rival Providence College Wednesday, falling to the Friars 10-0 in five innings.
Brown (9-17, 1-3 Ivy) surrendered seven runs in the top of the second, as Providence (10-18) rattled off five hits, including back-to-back triples with two outs.
Starter Emily Waters ’20 took the loss for Bruno and was relieved by Megan Wimmer ’19 in the second inning. Gina Chieffallo ’17 threw 2.1 innings of scoreless relief to close out the game. Christina Ramirez earned the win for the Friars, striking out five Bears over the full five innings.
Brown loaded the bases in the first inning with no outs after two walks and a single but failed to do any damage against Ramirez. Bruno totaled just five hits to Providence’s 12. Second baseman Christina Andrews ’17 led with two hits to bring her batting average to .316 on the season. Shortstop Katilin Okimoto ’20 added a single, extending her hitting streak to eight games.
The Bears will turn their attention back to conference play this weekend, welcoming Columbia and Penn in the first Ivy League games at Brown’s newly renovated turf facility.
The two doubleheaders present an opportunity for Bruno to gain separation against North-conference foes Harvard and Dartmouth, who both started conference play 1-3.
“Trying to come out and get some wins this weekend will really help,” said pitcher Katie Orona ’18. The Bears are “just trying to stay even with them in terms of record, because (those teams) are the ones that really matter.”
Bruno has enjoyed success against the Quakers in past seasons, winning three of the four past contests dating back to 2015.
The teams have historically been evenly matched, Orona said.
While Head Coach Katie Flynn has not announced the starting pitchers for this weekend’s games, Orona got the starting nod twice in Brown’s opening Ivy League games, earning the win against Cornell Apr. 2.
Should Orona get another start this weekend, pitch control will be key.
Her most important tactic? “Just throw a lot of strikes,” she said. “They swing a lot, historically, so just going out there and making sure I don’t give them any free passes.”
