Box Score

CARBONDALE, Ill.—The University of Evansville softball team ended its season in the first round of the 2008 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Softball championships with a 8-6 loss to the Missouri State Bears on Thursday at Charlotte West Stadium.

 

After almost being run ruled through five innings, the Aces came back and tied the game in the sixth before Missouri State put up two runs in the seventh to take the game.

 

Senior Jacki Bradley concluded her senior campaign in the circle, going seven innings and giving up just four earned runs on 13 hits in the game.

 

With two outs and a runner on second in the third inning, the Bears put together four straight hits to score three runs, all of which were unearned

 

The Aces had the bases loaded after consecutive singles by Bradley, Jennifer Stahlhut and Cassey Kemna, but Melissa Porche shut down the Aces’ offense and got the final two outs to end the scoring threat.

 

Porche helped herself at the plate driving in two runs in the fifth before coming around to score on an Aces’ misplay to take a 6-0 lead.

 

The Aces put up three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Amanda Ockomon led off the inning with a single and reached second on a single by Kristen Shirk. Brittany Herald, after being called out on strikes in her last at bat, hammered her tenth home run of the season to bridge the gap to 6-3. The home run tied Jessica Huff’s (’98-01) career mark of 23.

 

The Aces would put up three more in the sixth. Kemna scored on a sacrifice fly by Ockomon before Krista Price tied the game with a two-run shot to left field.

 

Ashley Knehans and Elysha Swider hit back-to-back RBI doubles to score the Bears’ final two runs.

 

Bradley led the Aces at the plate with three hits in her four trips to the plate. Shirk had two hits in the Aces’ ten-hit day.

 

The Bears will now face the number three seed, Southern Illinois. The Aces ended the 2008 season 25-21 overall and 11-13 in the MVC. The game was the final one in a Purple Aces’ uniform for seniors Jacki Bradley, Brittany Herald, Cassey Kemna, and Laura Rather.