Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville softball team split day one of the Missouri Valley Conference weekend series with conference leading Wichita State.
Evansville won game one by a score of 4-3 and lost game two to the Shockers 12-4. The Purple Aces are now 15-17 on the season with a 3-7 conference record and Wichita State is 21-15 with an 8-3 conference record.
Coach Mark Redburn was excited with how his team played in game one:
"I was really happy with our team and our performance there in the first game. Obviously Wichita State is a terrific program and we were able to fight and battle there in game one, even after they tied it up. Courtney Land and Megan Gurski were key to the team's success in the game, Megan with her solid complete game, and Courtney with some solid offense, including being part of the game winning double steal in the bottom of the seventh. We really gave ourselves a solid chance to win."
Despite the loss in game two, Redburn also saw some positives from his Purple Aces squad:
"In game two, I felt that Taylor Perry started the game out extremely well, she is obviously still trying to come back from injury so we had to change her out due to her pitch count. The first four innings there I thought we played extremely well and were able to battle and compete. The downfall for us was the seven run inning, I don't care who you are that will be tough to come back from. But we look forward to bouncing back tomorrow and getting the series win."
Game One
Game one was a wild one at Cooper Stadium, with both teams competing extremely hard through a tough seven innings.
Evansville started their Ace Megan Gurski (7-8) in the circle and Gurski would pitch a solid 7.0 innings, striking out six, allowing three runs and getting the win for Evansville.
The scoring started in the top of the second, as the Shockers got on the board first with an RBI single from Melanie Jaegers.
After a scoreless third for both teams, Wichita State struck again in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Brittany Fortner. The Aces would strike back with a solo homerun by freshman Chandra Parr that got the UE offense rolling.
The Aces added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on a Victoria Dellorto RBI single and a Courtney Land steal home, as Evansville took the 3-2 lead headed into the sixth.
Neither team would score in the sixth and in the top of the seventh, Wichita State tied the ball game up with a Brittany Fortner bases loaded walk to drive in the scoring run.
The Purple Aces wouldn't give up though, and it began with the freshman Land. Courtney Land reached on an error by the pitcher to begin the inning, then advanced to second on a passed ball by the WSU catcher and on a double steal that was helped by a throwing error by the catcher, Land would score the game winning run, giving Evansville the 4-3 victory.
Game Two
Senior Taylor Perry received the start in the circle for coach Redburn and the Aces and Perry pitched a strong 4.1 innings.
The scoring began in the second inning, as Wichita State's DP Macklin Hitz hit a two run homerun to give the Shockers an early 2-0 lead.
Evansville immediately fought back, scoring two runs of their own in the bottom of the second inning on a Susan Norris two run homer, tying the game at 2-2.
Perry held the Shockers scoreless in the top of the third and UE took the lead on a Kayla Fortner# homerun, giving the Aces a 3-2 heading into the fourth.
The Shockers scored the game tying run in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Ali Vandever that would drive in a run.
The fifth inning is where things got rough for the Aces, as Perry gave up a run to start the inning, giving the Shockers the lead and leading to the big run for the conference rival.
Perry's (0-3) day would be finished in after allowing the run, pitching 4.1 innings, allowing four runs and striking out five, leading to the senior's third loss this season.
Briana Combs entered the circle for Perry and the freshman gave up five runs in the fifth before being pulled for sophomore Annie Moore. Moore allowed one more WSU score before finishing out the inning, leading to the Shockers 10-3 lead.
The Aces added one more run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Victoria Dellorto, cutting the Shockers lead, 10-4.
Neither team scored in the sixth and WSU was able to add two more runs in the top of the seventh, leading to the 12-4 victory.
The conference rivals will play again in the series finale tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. at Cooper Stadium.
