Bearcats drop two, Cougars, Lady Lynx sweep twinbills
The McKendree University softball team dropped both ends of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader Saturday at home against Drury University. The Panthers won the opener 6-1 before edging the Bearcats in the nightcap, 1-0.
The Bearcats are now 21-23 overall and 13-11 in the GLVC play. McKendree will close out the home portion of its 2016 schedule on Sunday by playing host to Missouri S&T in conference action. First pitch is set for noon. The Bearcats will also honor catcher Marla Schulte (O’Fallon) and pitcher Taylor Barnouski (O’Fallon) during Senior Day activities at Bearcat Field.
In game one, McKendree grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Schulte singled with one out and moved to second base on a groundout. After a walk to junior outfielder Dani Schoenbacher (Pinckneyville) and a single by freshman utility Sara Radae (Edwardsville) loaded the bases, Schulte was able to race home on a wild pitch to put the Bearcats in front.
Drury (15-29, 8-16 GLVC) tied the contest with a run in the third inning, then surged in front good with a two-run outburst in the fifth. The Panthers sealed the win by plating three runs in the seventh inning. Junior right-hander Holly Magre was charged with the game one loss for McKendree, giving up four earned runs on nine hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts. Magre's record is now 12-9 on the season.
Game two featured a pitching duel between McKendree freshman Maci Ingram (Nashville) and Drury's Jessica Kjeldgaard. The Bearcats and Panthers were held hitless until the fifth inning, when Drury's Chantal Oelrich belted a solo home run to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Schulte broke up Kjeldgaard's no-hit bid with a one-out single in the bottom of the fifth. But the Bearcats could only manage one more hit the rest of the contest, a sixth-inning single by junior infielder Hanna Branch.
Ingram took the hard-luck loss for McKendree, tossing a complete-game two-hitter with four strikeouts. Ingram is now 6-8 overall.
SIUE 2-2, Murray State 0-1
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars improved to 9-6 in Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday with a doubleheader sweep over Murray State in Murray, Ky.
The Cougars, 17-19 overall, won the opener 2-0 and the nightcap 2-1. Murray State dropped to 17-23 overall and 7-9 in the OVC.
Baylee Douglass ran her record to 11-7 after a two-hit shutout in the opener. The Cougar sophomore added her third save of the season, tossing the seventh inning of game two.
Koziol also pitched well for the Cougars as the starter and winning of game two, yielding just three hits in six innings of work. Her sixth victory of the season included three strikeouts all of which were third outs in the first, second and fifth innings.
LaFave sparked the Cougar offense Saturday. She singled and scored the game-winning run in the first inning of game one. After her single, she stole second and scored on a single to right field by Rachel Keller.
LaFave added an insurance run with her second home run of the season. The solo blast was with two outs in third inning off Murray State pitcher Mason Robinson.
In game two, SIUE's offense struck quickly off Murray State starter Haven Campbell.
Alyssa Heren ripped a triple down the right field. She scored on a doubled to left-center field by LaFave.
Murray State scored its only run of the game in the bottom of the second, but the Cougars answered in the fourth.Talisa Morton, pinch running for designated player Savannah Fisher, scored after a passed ball and a wild pitch provided the eventual winning run.
The two teams meet for a third game Sunday. SIUE will look to go for a series sweep with game time set for 1 p.m.
LU-Belleville 7-8, Hannibal-LaGrange 3-1
The Lindenwood University-Belleville Lady Lynx extended their winning streak to a season-high nine games on Saturday on Senior Recognition Day in Belleville.
The Lady Lynx (31-14; 15-5 AMC) took two from the Lady Trojans (23-25; 11-13 AMC).
Leading the way in the first game was Emily Ray as she extended her hitting streak to six games by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Payton Curtis went 3-for-3 with a run scored and RBI, while Taiyana Poore totaled two hits and an RBI of her own. Inside the circle, Taylor Winn picked up her 18th win on the season as she went 3.0 innings out of the pen, allowing one run (zero earned) on two hits.
In game two, all the scoring was done in the fourth as after HLGU took a 1-0 lead, Lindenwood-Belleville answered with eight runs and with Winn on the mound that was more than enough as they cruised to victory.
Winn, a Herrin, Illinois, native, would hit a 2-run homer, her 14th on the season for the big blow. Winn made it win number 19 in the nightcap as she went 5.0 innings, allowing one run on one hit and struck out two.
At the conclusion of the game, the team honored its seniors, which included Nicolle Miskowicz, Callan Hall, Ajah Douglas, Poore, Powers, Kelly McDaid and Brittany Harper.
The team will return to the diamond on Monday in an AMC showdown against Missouri Baptist University. The first pitch from St. Louis will be thrown at 2 p.m.
This story was originally published April 17, 2016 at 12:48 AM with the headline "Bearcats drop two, Cougars, Lady Lynx sweep twinbills."