PEORIA, Ill. – In the opening day of its final series of the season, the University of Evansville softball team earned a doubleheader split against Bradley at Petersen Hotels Field.
Evansville (15-33, 8-17 MVC) posted a 4-0 shutout in game one before the Braves (19-29, 8-15 MVC) rebounded for a 3-1 victory in game two.
Game One Box Score (PDF) - Game Two Box Score (PDF)
Lindsay Renneisen got the Purple Aces off to a great start in game one, launching a 2-run home run in the top of the first inning. Eryn Gould led the game off with a single to left-center and crossed the plate on Renneisen's team-leading 8
th long ball of the season.
Gould hit a home run of her own, a solo shot, to lead off the third and extend the lead to 3-0. Starter Morgan Florey limited the Braves to one hit in the first three frames and was able to avoid trouble in the fourth. The Braves put runners on second and third with one out, but Florey was able to get the final two outs to keep them scoreless.
Brittany Hay brought home the Aces fourth run of the game as her double in the 6
th plated Allison Daggett. From there, Florey kept the Braves at bay in the circle and struck out 13 batters as UE earned the 4-0 win. The Aces notched just four hits in the game, but two found their way out of the park. Gould led the way with two hits.
In game two, Evansville did its best to get on the board first, notching two hits in the second inning before Braves starter Megan Mahaffy got out of the inning unscathed. Her offense got the job done in the bottom half of the second when a Kealia Wysocki double brought in the first run of the game.
After Bradley plated its second run in the bottom of the 5
th, Florey got the Aces on the board in the 6
th, hitting a leadoff home run to make it a 2-1 game. With two outs, McKenzie Johnson notched her second hit of the game, but UE was unable to push the tying run across the plate. The Braves were able to add an insurance run in the bottom of the inning and finished with a 3-1 win.
With the loss in game two, the Aces were eliminated from the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. Tomorrow, the teams will complete the series with an 11 a.m. game.
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