PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The SBU softball Bearcats returned from a successful Spring Break trip to Florida, winning six of eight games at the West Florida Spring Fling.

Josie Rose

The Bearcats opened up on Friday, March 20 against NAIA Central Methodist, winning both afternoon contests. Nina Amaro Garcia homered twice and drove in three, leading the Bearcats to a 10-1 win in the opener. Aleece Nalbandian had three hits while Josie Rose picked the pitching win. Game two went to the Bearcats, 4-1, as Krysta Baderdeen drove in two with a fifth inning double.

Saturday's games saw the Bearcats in action against another NAIA squad, in the Ohio Dominican Panthers. Josie Rose picked up her ninth win of the season and struck out nine over seven innings, as the Bearcats won 4-2. Garcia homered again for the 'Cats while Garcia, Thelmeca Chambers, Katrina Munoz and Taressa Gomez each had two hits. Game two against ODU was a shootout, with the Bearcats winning 11-7. Munoz and Chambers continued their big days at the plate, with Munoz going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, while Chambers was also 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored.

Monday (March 23) had the Bearcats in action against Division III Wisconsin-Oshkosh and NAIA Williams Baptist. Against UWO, the Bearcats extended their winning streak to six games and defeated the Titans 4-2. Four players had two hits each for the Bearcats and Rose picked up win #10. Williams Baptist would snap SBU's winning streak in the second game with a 7-6 score. McKenzie Mortimer went 3-for-4 with two runs scored while Munoz had two hits and scored two runs.

Katrina Munoz

The Bearcats wrapped up their Florida trip on Tuesday, March 24, against D-II West Virginia State. The Yellow Jackets took game one 4-3, handing Rose her first loss of the Florida trip. Baderdeen and Gomez had two hits each for SBU. In game two, pitchers Brittney Wood and Rose combined to shutout the Jackets 1-0. Sarah Brison drove in the only run for the Bearcats.

Several Bearcats had solid efforts at the plate over the eight Florida games. Baderdeen hit .360 and had 5 RBI and 5 runs scored. Chambers hit .556 in three games, drove in four and scored three times. Garcia had three homers, 8 RBI, 6 runs scored and hit .409, while also going 2-1 on the mound in 8.2 innings. Gomez had 10 hits, scored 7 runs and drove in five. Mortimer hit .462 (12/26) and 6 runs and 6 RBI along with two stolen bases.

Katrina Munoz may have had the best stretch of all, hitting .458 (11/24) with 10 runs scored, 6 RBI, a home run and 4 stolen bases. Rose was the top pitcher for the 'Cats, going 3-1 with an ERA of 1.22 in 28.2 innings pitched and 22 strikeouts. Wood also threw 15.2 innings and went 1-0 in four starts.

The Bearcats (15-17) are in back in action in Bolivar on Monday against Fort Hays State, with a 1:00/3:00 PM doubleheader.

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