CHARLESTON, W.Va.—As the No. 3 seed, No. 9 nationally ranked University of Charleston Softball (46-4, 27-3 MEC) comes out on top in Game One of the NCAA Atlantic Regional 2 Tournament, defeating No. 6 seeded Bloomsburg University (33-23, 18-14 PSAC), 3-0.

Brianna McCown (31-3) got the victory with six strikeouts and only one hit and one walk allowed in seven innings of work. The senior currently ranks second in the country in victories. It was also announced today that McCown, Hannah Rose, Isabella Andujar and Allison Rubal earned NFCA First-Team All-Atlantic Region honors for their outstanding performances this season. 
 
The Basics:
Location: UC Softball Field
Score: 3-0 (W)
 
How it Happened:
The first game of the tournament was a pitching duel, as nobody managed to score until the Golden Eagles broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sophomore Bianca Polistina started it off with a double down the left field line. She quickly advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Rubal. From there, the speedy outfielder raced for the plate and notched Charleston's first run on a wild pitch by Bloomsburg's starting pitcher, Callie Sowers.
 
McCown continued to shut down the Huskies' offense, not allowing a hit through five innings. UC's last two runs of the game came in the fifth. With one out, Rose reached first via a hit-by-pitch to put a runner on with the dangerous Isabella Andujar stepping up to the plate. Andujar wasted no time from that point on, as she blasted a two-run homer to left field. Bloomsburg got themselves out of the inning though to stop the bleeding at 3-0. 

It took them until the sixth inning, but Bloomsburg tallied their first hit of the game on a one-out single up the middle. That was all they were able to get though, as McCown's lights out pitching continued through the rest of the game. The Golden Eagles out hit the Huskies 6-1 to secure the 3-0 victory.
 
Up Next:
UC Softball will take on the No. 2 seeded Golden Rams of West Chester University (35-20, 18-13 PSAC) on Friday, May 10 at noon. They will battle for a spot on championship Saturday in hopes of going on to punch their ticket to super regionals for a second year in a row.