Pichardo Makes History in Debut as Bears Fall to Bryant in Home Opener

Friday, March 17

Providence, R.I.

3:30 p.m.

Brown University

1-10

Bryant

6-7

Bryant

Brown

Olivia Pichardo's first at-bat in collegiate debut

Pichardo Makes History in Debut as Bears Fall to Bryant in Home Opener

3/17/2023 9:22:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Brown baseball team dropped its home opener against Bryant by a score of 10-1 on Friday afternoon at Attanasio Family Field at Murray Stadium. After a scoreless first four innings, the Bulldogs jumped on the board in the fifth and piled on seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to pull away.

Brown freshman Olivia Pichardo made her collegiate debut in the game, pinch hitting and grounding out to first base in the bottom of the ninth inning, becoming the first female in history to appear in an NCAA Division I baseball game.

HISTORY! Olivia Pichardo becomes the first female in history to appear in an NCAA Division I baseball game #EverTrue pic.twitter.com/35mqSIl7rS
— Brown Baseball (@BrownU_Baseball) March 17, 2023

Senior Derian Morphew went 2-for-4 with an RBI double out of the leadoff spot and senior Ray Sass also doubled and scored a run. On the mound, senior Tobey McDonough allowed three earned runs over six innings of work, and freshman Christian Keel allowed one run on two hits over 2.0 innings with four strikeouts.

Bryant jumped on top 1-0 in the fifth on a leadoff double and an RBI single. They used three straight hits to tack on two more runs in the sixth and take a 3-0 lead, before doubling their lead with three more runs on two hits in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 6-0.

Bryant scored four more times in the eighth inning, capped by a three-run homer off the bat of Derek Smith, who ambushed a first pitch fastball to make it 10-0.

Brown got on the board in the bottom of the eighth when Sass reached on a fielder's choice with two outs, and came in to score on a double down the left field line by Morphew.

QUOTES FROM THE COACH: GRANT ACHILLES

"(Bryant's Chase) Jeter did a good job today of commanding pitches in the zone and keeping our hitters off balance. I don't think we made enough adjustments to how he was attacking us and how we're capable of playing to have success. Tomorrow's a new day and we need to approach it with an aggressive mindset with what we can control. We've seen what happens when our offense does that. We put pressure and force teams to defend against us and is something we're capable of doing on a daily basis."
"I hope Olivia's accomplishments show people that if someone is talented enough to be given an opportunity, they should be judged solely on their baseball abilities. No other factors should play into that. Olivia is an example of that. It is not just her putting all the work and effort in, but an entire network of people who have supported her along the way, and her teammates. Her teammates are a special group to be able to realize how historic this moment is, but also to hold her accountable as a teammate and hold her to our standard as a baseball player."

QUOTES: OLIVIA PICHARDO

"I just hope that young girls can watch and see that this is possible; that it's not just a dream but it is a tangible goal they can have. I really hope that there is a whole new wave and generation of girls that come around and try to make it as far as I have, and further in baseball."

The first of many more to come ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/iqLPY3SIXJ
— Brown Baseball (@BrownU_Baseball) March 18, 2023

Brown and Bryant will continue their weekend series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 11:30 a.m.

Gallery: (3-17-2023) Baseball vs Bryant, 3/17/2023

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