GAME ONE BOXSCORE            GAME TWO BOXSCORE

The College at Brockport head softball coach John Dumaw was hoping to use Brockport's Spring Training trip to evaluate his players in live games, and sort out his starting lineup for the rest of the year.

 

Winning the first eight games on the trip is a nice added bonus for the Golden Eagles.

 

Brockport (8-0) pushed its 2011 season-opening winning streak to eight with a pair of convincing wins Wednesday afternoon on Northwest Field at the Cape Coral Complex in Fort Myers, Fla.

 

The Golden Eagles dispatched Albright (PA) College 11-5 in game one behind four hits apiece from freshmen Sarah Rosenbarker (Endicott, Maine-Endwell) and Shannon Westfall (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg).

 

Brockport also blanked Nichols College 2-0 in game two after senior Stephanie Geer (Binghamton, NY/Seton Catholic) pitched a complete-game, three-hitter with nine strikeouts and no walks.

 

With the pair of wins, the Golden Eagles matched the 1993 team for the school's best season-opening start since at least the 1984 season.

 

Over the last two spring training trips, Brockport has started strong, winning its first 15 games.

 

Brockport scored two runs off of errors in the first inning, added a run in the second on sophomore Jenna Yates' (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca East) RBI triple and tacked on three more runs in the third.

 

Rosenbarker led off the inning with a single and advanced to third when sophomore Danielle Sage (Oakfield, NY/Oakfield Alabama) doubled. Freshman Liz Hochman (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) had an RBI single that scored Rosenbarker for a 4-1 lead. Sage made it 5-1, scoring on an error, and Caitlyn Rana (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) added an RBI single that plated Westfall for a 6-1 edge.

 

Albright (4-5) fought back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, but Brockport got those runs back in the fifth. Freshman Emily Dumas (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) had an RBI single and Rosenbarker added an RBI double for an 8-4 lead.

 

The Golden Eagles added three runs in the seventh. Rosenbarker had another RBI double, and Brockport loaded the bases for junior Amy Nowak (Warsaw, NY/Warsaw). Nowak drew a two-out walk to score Dumas, and Westfall followed with an RBI single to finish the scoring for Brockport.

 

Sophomore Katie Kearney (Corfu, NY/Pembroke) earned the win, allowing four runs on six hits over four innings.

 

“The contribution by the newer kids was the key to this game,” Dumaw said. “(Shannon) Westfall went 4-for-4 and (Katie) Kearney pitched five strong innings for us.”

 

The Golden Eagles picked up their fifth shutout in eight games during game two. Geer allowed a leadoff single before striking out the next three Nichols' (4-6) hitters.

 

Brockport pushed across a first-inning run on an RBI single from freshman Susanna Johnson (Edmeston, NY/Edmeston). Johnson was at it again in the home half of the third. Yates and Rosenbarker delivered a single and a double, respectively, to give Brockport runners at second and third with no out. Johnson made it 2-0 with an RBI single that scored Yates.

 

That was all the offense Geer (4-0) would need to pick up her fourth win of the year. Geer surrendered only three singles — the only batted balls to leave the infield — and retired 16 of the final 18 batters.

 

“Geer pitched a great game, holding Nichols scoreless, she was definitely in control today,” Dumaw said. “Yates scored both of our runs early in the game to give Geer a cushion, and she made the lead hold up.”

 

Johnson delivered three hits while Yates and Rosenbarker had two hits apiece and sophomore Dorothy Niemira (Garden City, NY/Garden City) added a single for the Golden Eagles.

 

Brockport continues its Florida trip with a pair of Thursday afternoon games. The Golden Eagles will play Edgewood (Wisc.) College at 1 p.m. followed by a 3 p.m. clash with Wooster (Mass.) College.