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OMAHA, Neb. – As Evansville softball continued into tournament play after topping No. 3 Illinois State in Thursday night’s late game, the Aces continued its postseason stretch as they defeated No. 2 Drake on Friday afternoon in eight innings, 2-1, in Omaha, Neb.
“Today was a game that we truly had to earn against a very well-coached program,” said head coach
Mark Redburn. “Both teams really battled each other and our kids came up big.”
With multiple Aces stepping up in tournament play, senior
Tamara Robey and sophomore
Kayla Fortner led the offense against the Bulldogs as each went1-for-2 at bat while Robey notched a pair of walks and went 2-for-2 in stolen bases. Power hitting Fortner grabbed the game winning run with a home run as she also tallied an RBI and two walks.
“From Patterson with her pitches to our defense, especially with that double play in the sixth inning, we were able to stay in the game and look for our opportunities while being able to put an end to a couple of their rallies,” said Redburn. “With Kayla, she started off struggling a bit, but she stuck to the one pitch at a time mindset and eventually her one pitch came and she was able to make a play for us.”
UE will take part in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship on Saturday, May 11, with a starting time of 5:07 p.m. CST. The Aces will go head-to-head with No.4 Northern Iowa at the CU Sports Complex.
The game will be broadcasted live on the radio once again as you can listen to Tom Benson call the championship game at 91.5 WUEV, or online at WUEV.org. Live Stats will also be available to follow as well as the game will be shown on MVC TV.
Game Recap: Drake 1, UE 2
As the first inning saw nothing going from either side, Evansville was able to strike first in the top of the second after a bases loaded walk was issued to sophomore
Victoria Dellorto that allowed senior
Brianna Villanueva to reach home plate and give UE the lead over Drake, 1-0.
The Bulldogs did not relax though as their half of the second knotted the score, 1-1, after an RBI single to left field sent a runner in and tied it up heading to the third frame.
With a quick and scoreless third and fourth innings, Robey was able to grab a single and a pair of back-to-back stolen bases in the top of the fifth, putting herself in scoring position, but runners were left stranded on the corners as Drake’s Rebekah Schmidt was able to clinch a strikeout to end UE’s chance at taking the lead.
While the Aces worked themselves into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the sixth as runners dotted the corners at first and third for Drake, Evansville was able to come up with a notable double play at first and second after a ground out to senior second baseman
Alicia Betancur ended the inning and left the score in tact heading to the seventh frame.
With impressive defense all around and the pitching of senior
Sarah Patterson, the Aces were able to leave Drake scoreless in the seventh inning as Evansville and its opponent headed into extra innings for the second time in the MVC Tournament.
As Fortner led off for UE in the top of the eighth inning, she was able to battle with Schmidt for five pitches before smacking a solo home run to left center to take the lead over the Bulldogs, 2-1, heading into the bottom half of the eighth inning.
The Aces managed to work three quick outs in Drake’s half of the inning with a pair of pop ups and a foul out to take the victory, 2-1, over Drake and advance to the championship game.
Patterson continued to improve her record in the circle as she moved to 16-10 on the season while striking out four and allowing one run in 8.0 innings of work.
Drake pitcher Schmidt suffered the loss as she ended the season 12-11 in the circle. Schmidt struck out nine batters in just 6.1 innings while allowing one run. Jordan Gronewold saw the start for the Bulldogs as she pitched just 1.2 innings while allowing one run, issuing four walks, and striking out one.
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