The fifth-seeded Brooklyn College Women's Softball Team (13-13, 7-4 CUNYAC) dropped an 8-2 decision to John Jay College (12-21, 6-6 CUNYAC) in the first round of the CUNYAC Softball Playoffs on Wednesday, April 30.
    The fourth-seeded Bloodhounds struck first, taking an early 1-0 lead as second baseman Arlene Pena (Herbert Lehman / Bronx, NY) doubled to score Danielle Bonici (St. Peter's / Staten Island, NY).
     That score stayed that way until the top of the fourth inning, when Kirsten Ingenito (Martin Luther / Woodhaven, NY) and Kristen Corvino (Bishop Kearney / Brooklyn, NY) drew back-to-back walks to open the frame off John Jay pitcher Angela Lam (Newtown / Brooklyn, NY). After a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third bases, Brooklyn left fielder Christina McDonnell (Staten Island Tech / Brooklyn, NY) drilled a double to the right-center field gap, plating both runners for a 2-1 Bridges lead.
     The Bridges threatened to add to the lead in the top of the sixth inning, when Ingenito and Corvino again led off the frame with a walk each. However, Lam retired the next three batters, stranding runners on second and third and keeping the score at 2-1.
     In the bottom of the sixth, Brooklyn pitcher Jaime Bellettini (Franklin K. Lane / Glendale, NY), who had retired 12 of the previous 14 batters, surrendered back-to-back hits to start the inning. John Jay’s third base Jasmine Miranda (Passaic / Passaic, NJ) hit a grounder to second base but the throw home was late, allowing the Bloodhounds to tie the score. Minutes later, hurler Lam executed a successful squeeze bunt giving her team a 3-2 lead, opening the gates for John Jay to score several runs and secure the victory.
     “Everybody was upset because we thought we could’ve won,” said Bellettini to Monday Morning. This was the pitcher’s final game as a member of the Bridges. “My teammates are upset as well, but they are a very young team, as only two of us are retiring this year,” Bellettini stated. “They are going to have a lot of returning players next year. It is tough on coach Pet Grillo but I think he’s happy with the progress we made as a team.”