T-town graduates Help College Softball Teams

DES MOINES, Iowa – Sophomore Allison Apke (Teutopolis graduate) hit a two-run homer in the sixth and Bradley had the tying run on base in the seventh, but league-leading Drake was able to close out a 6-3 victory over the Braves Saturday afternoon at Buel Field to conclude a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series.

On a cold and windy day, Bradley’s bats took a while to heat up with Drake starter Nicole Newman limiting the Braves to just one hit in the first five innings.  Newman, who took a perfect game into the fourth before surrendering a two-out Apke single, struck out nine Bradley hitters in five shutout innings of work before giving way in the circle to Kailee Smith.

Drake (25-9 overall, 8-0 MVC) scored the first run of the contest in the bottom of the second.  Taryn Pena led off the frame with a double and would later score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Sarah Maddox as the Bulldogs grabbed an early 1-0 lead.

Another sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third would lead to another Drake run and a Bradley error on a sacrifice bunt later in the inning allowed another to cross with the Bulldogs building a 3-0 lead before the Braves would collect their first hit of the game.

Apke had the first Bradley hit of the day with a two-out single to left in the fourth and freshman Stacia Seeton was hit by a pitch to put a pair of runners on.  Newman would settle down, however and get a strikeout to end the threat.

Bradley (13-18 overall, 2-5 MVC) threw a runner out at the plate to end the bottom of the fourth and put a pair on base in the top of the fifth with freshmen Vicki Zaluske and Jillian Navarro both drawing walks.  Newman and Drake escaped the inning unscathed, getting a fielder’s choice and a fly out to end the inning.

Drake added a pair of important insurance runs in the bottom half of the fifth.  Macy Johnson had an infield single and stole second, before coming home on a Bradley error.  The Bulldogs pushed across another run in the inning on a fielder’s choice to extend the lead to 5-0.

Senior Maria Schroeder led off the Bradley sixth with a single and the Braves pulled within three runs on a two-run Apke homer to right center.  The home run was Apke’s team-best ninth of the year, which is tied for the third-best season total in school history, and pushed her RBI total this spring to 32.  The Braves had a chance to cut further into Drake lead after Seeton reached on an error and Elizabeth Leonard legged out a bunt single.  The Bulldogs held on to their three-run lead, getting a pair of groundouts and a lineout to get out of the jam.

Bradley looked for a quick bottom of the sixth after a lineout and flyout to open the frame, but Drake would draw four consecutive walks to add a run as the Bulldogs took a 6-2 lead into the seventh.

In the top of the seventh, Schroeder followed a freshman Taise Thompson one-out single with one of her own to put a pair of runners on.  With two outs in the inning, Drake dropped a fly ball in the outfield which would have ended the contest and allowed Thompson to race home from second, making it a three-run game at 6-3.  Leonard drew a walk to load the bases with two outs putting the tying run on base, but Drake got a groundout to close out the 6-3 victory as the Bulldogs earned their 11th consecutive victory.

Friday's Games

Bradley appeared in line to salvage a doubleheader split with league-leading Drake Friday, holding a three-run lead through five-and-a-half innings of the nightcap before the Bulldogs rallied to tie it in the bottom of the sixth and earned a 9-8 walk-off victory with a run in the seventh.  Drake took the series opener 10-2 earlier in the day.

In the opener, Bradley (13-17 overall, 2-4 MVC) found itself in an early hole after a seven-run first inning by the Bulldogs.  Drake collected seven hits in the frame to jump out to the 7-0 advantage and the Bulldogs added another run in the second on a Nicole Newman two-out RBI double.

The Braves got two runs in the top of the third after freshmen Jillian Navarro and Vicki Zaluske led off the inning with back-to-back singles.  Both runners came around to score when senior Maria Schroeder reached on an error to trim the Drake lead to 8-2.  The Braves nearly added two more runs, but Kelsey Wright robbed Allison Apke of her ninth homer of the year by tracking down a deep fly ball at the fence in left.

Drake (24-9 overall, 7-0 MVC) picked up an unearned run in the fourth on a BU error on an Abby Buie stolen base to push the advantage to 9-2.  Newman held Bradley to just four hits and two unearned runs as she struck out seven in the complete game victory in the circle for the Bulldogs.  She capped the contest with a solo homer to leadoff the Drake half of the fifth to put the finishing touches on a 10-2 win for the Bulldogs.

Bradley trailed early again in the second game with Drake owning a 2-0 lead after one inning of play.  The Braves threatened in the top half of the inning, but the Bulldogs erased a leadoff walk with a double play and Bradley left a pair on base after Apke and freshman Stacia Seeton were both hit by pitches.  RBI singles by Taryn Pena and Sarah Maddox in the bottom half of the first gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead heading to the second.

The Braves answered with a six-run second inning, however, to take their first lead of the afternoon.  Bradley loaded the bases on an Elizabeth Leonard single, hit batter and walk for junior Gabby Stoner, who tied the game at 2-2 with a two-run infield single.  Senior Maria Schroeder followed with a RBI single to left and the bases were loaded again after Apke was hit by a pitch for the second time in the contest.  After a pitching change, Seeton ripped the first of her two doubles to left to drive in two more runs and a Drake error on the play allowed another run to score as Bradley took a 6-2 lead.

Drake got a run in the bottom of the second on a Kennedy Frank RBI single to trim the Bradley advantage to 6-3.

Seeton doubled again in the top of the fourth, but the Braves left a pair in scoring position in the frame.   In the fifth, Bradley took advantage of a Drake error to plate another run.  Zaluske led off the BU half of the fifth with a single and moved all the way to third on a Drake error on the play.  She would eventually score on a bunt single by Brooklyn Bane as the Braves built a 7-3 lead.

The Bulldogs wouldn’t go away, however, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom half of the fifth.  A hit batter and error to open the inning put two runners on and Drake scored the first run of the frame on a groundout. Buie made it a 7-5 Bradley lead later in the inning with a RBI single to left.

Bradley pushed the lead back to three at 8-5 with a run in the sixth.  Schroeder belted a double to center to leadoff the inning and later scored on a two-out infield single by Leonard.

The three-run lead was short-lived, though, with Drake coming up with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the contest at 8-8.  The Bulldogs had runners at second and third with one out, when Kailee Smith had a RBI bloop single to right.  A Bradley error on a throw to the plate allowed another run to cross and pinch runner Melissa Schlotzhauer scored from second on a Wright single to left as the teams went to the seventh knotted at 8-8.

Freshman Taise Thompson opened the top of the seventh with a pinch hit double to center, but Drake got a flyout, groundout and strikeout to end the Bradley threat.

Junior Megan Mahaffy retired the first two batters she faced in the bottom of the seventh, before the Bulldogs mounted a two-out rally.  Macy Johnson beat out a bunt single and stole second.  Cleanup hitter Taryn Pena drove in her fourth run of the day with a single to center as Johnson raced home from second to give Drake the 9-8 walk-off victory.  The win extended Drake’s win streak to 10.

Illinois State Wins

Alyssa Wiebel’s second double of the day in the bottom of the ninth, after a lead-off double by Riley Strandgard, helped Illinois State (12-23, 3-5 MVC) walk off with the 6-5 victory over the visiting Sycamores (16-14, 4-4 MVC) to grab the series, 2-1, in the Redbirds’ home-opening weekend.

Illinois State’s extra-inning thriller marks the sixth time the Redbirds have played free softball this season, posting a 3-3 record when playing more than seven innings in 2018.

Starting pitcher Morgan Day struck out three Sycamores in the top of the first, but not before Indiana State hit a single into short left field to bring a pair of runners home to help the visiting team to a 2-0 lead early on. Allison Spence registered Illinois State’s first hit of the day in the bottom of the inning, but was one of two Redbird runners left stranded on base.

Indiana State added a run to the board in the top of the second, bringing relief pitcher Shannon Felde to the circle, who fanned a Sycamore to close the half inning. A pair of singles by Caitlyn Daly and Abby Turczyn, and a walk issued to Lauren Prader, loaded the bases for the Redbirds in the home half of the second to start offensive momentum for Illinois State. A single to centerfield by Felde brought a pair of runners across home plate to help the Redbirds cut into the Sycamores’ lead.

Both sides went scoreless in the third and fourth innings, before Indiana State extended its lead in the top of the fifth with a single to help the Sycamores to a 5-2 advantage. In the bottom of the inning, Spence reached first on an error by the Sycamore second baseman before a single dropped into left field by Riley Strandgard put a pair of base runners back on for the Redbirds. Wiebel’s first double of the day, and third of the season, dropped into right field to bring Spence across home plate.

After a one-out double hit hard into left field by the Sycamores, Illinois State called Ali Domkuski to the circle to take over pitching the duties, making it the fourth appearance by the junior this season. Domkuski finished the day pitching 3.2 innings of relief while allowing just a single hit to go with a pair of strikeouts, securing her first win of the season.

Pinch hitter Alex Caliva stepped up to the dish to lead off the bottom of the sixth and was hit by the first pitch sent in to put a base runner on for the Redbirds. Turczyn sent the first pitch delivered to her in the next at-bat through the left side to put the tying run on base. A single by Spence brought Riley Hale home from second base before a throwing error by the Sycamores brought Felde across home plate to knot the game at five-all.

Domkuski and the Redbird defense sent the Sycamores down in order in the top of the seventh, and tried to bring the go-ahead run home in the bottom of the frame, but Indiana State forced Illinois State to play its sixth extra-inning game of the season.

A quiet eighth inning, followed by a quick top of the ninth, brought Strandgard back to the dish to start things off for the Redbirds in the bottom of the inning, where a double by Wiebel sent Strandgard home to give Illinois State the 6-5 victory and the Missouri Valley Conference series over the Sycamores.

T-town graduate Anni Borries scored a run for Illinois State.