NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In Friday's opening day of the Lady Bison Classic, the University of Evansville softball team fell in contests to Akron and Indiana University at Draper Diamond. The first game of the day saw the Zips hang on for a 3-1 win before the Hoosiers took a 5-2 win in the second contest of the day.
Game One Box Score -
Game Two Box Score
Game One – Akron 3, UE 1
Alexa Davis hit a leadoff home run in the first inning but Akron scored twice in the bottom of the frame before finishing with a 3-1 win. Davis drove a 3-1 pitch over the wall in right center to give the Aces a quick 1-0 advantage.
Akron recorded three hits in the bottom of the first and scored twice to take the lead. Two more hits saw the Zips threaten again in the second but UE starting pitcher Paige McAllister got out of the jam. McAllister settled in and would not allow another run until the sixth when a Madison Dudek RBI single extended the lead to 3-1.
Zoe Frossard led off the seventh with a single while Jess Willsey and Hannah Hood followed with 1-out singles to load the bases. Akron recorded the final outs to clinch the win. McAllister gave up three runs, two earned, on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. Sydney Weatherford registered the final two outs. Akron picked up 11 hits in the game while UE had four.
Game Two – Indiana 5, UE 2
With the game tied at 2-2 heading to the bottom of the third, Indiana broke the tie and would finish with a 5-2 victory. The Hoosiers had a quick start, plating two runs in the bottom of the first. Evansville's offense got rolling with two runs to tie the game in the third.
Sydney Kalonihea reached on an error and would score the Aces' first run of the game on a double by Taylor Howe. Marah Wood, who reached on a 1-out single, tied the game when she scored on a passed ball. IU wasted little time in jumping back in front as Brianna Copeland reached on an error before scoring on a second error in the same play.
Single runs in the fourth and fifth extended the IU lead to 5-2. From there, Copeland took care of business in the circle. She did not allow a UE hit in the final three innings to help the Hoosiers take the 5-2 win. Mikayla Jolly made the start and tossed three innings. She gave up three runs, two earned, on just one hit. Megan Brenton went the final three frames and allowed two runs, one of which was earned.
On Saturday, the Aces face the same two squads with game one against the Hoosiers set for a 10 a.m. start before another meeting against Akron at 5:30 p.m.
