Allison Apke Hits Fourth Homer In Loss

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Freshman Lucy Mead extended her hit streak to nine games and junior Allison Apke (Teutopolis graduate) hit her fourth home run of the season, but Louisville held off Bradley softball for a 7-5 victory Sunday afternoon at the Tennessee Invitational.

Bradley (5-6 overall) left 12 runners on base and went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the loss, with the Braves leaving the game-tying run on base in the seventh.

Mead led off the game with a single and senior Gabby Stoner followed with a walk only to have Bradley leave a pair of runners on base in the top of the first.  Walks to Taise Thompson and Vicki Zaluske in the top of the second led to two more runners stranded on base for the Braves.

Louisville (6-5 overall) was able to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the second as Kyra Snyder put the Cardinals in front with a two-run homer to right.

Bradley answered with a two-run homer of its own in the top of the third.  Stoner led off the frame with a single and Apke followed with a homer to left center to knot the game at 2-2.  The home run was Apke’s fourth of the season and moved her into a tie with fellow junior Kealia Wysocki for second in career home runs at Bradley with 19.

A solo home run by Charley Butler to lead off the bottom of the third put Louisville back in front 3-2.

Stoner and Apke started another Bradley rally in the top of the fifth.  Following a Stoner walk to start the inning, Apke ripped a single back to the pitcher to put a pair of runners on.  Wysocki walked to load the bases and Stoner later scored on a four-pitch, one-out, bases-loaded walk to senior Katie Habryle to pull Bradley even at 3-3.  It appeared the Braves took a 4-3 lead on a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Thompson, but the runner at third was called out for leaving early to end the inning.

Sidney Melton led off the Louisville half of the fifth with a single and Celene Funke followed with a single of her own.  Megan Hensley delivered the big hit of the game for the Cardinals, ripping a three-run homer to right as Louisville pushed the lead to 6-3.

Bradley threatened again in the top of the sixth, loading the bases on singles by Zaluske and Mead along with an Apke two-out walk.  A fielder’s choice ended the threat, however, and Louisville added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as the Braves trailed 7-3 heading to the seventh.

A one-out single by Habryle got things started for Bradley in the seventh and a double off the bat of Thompson gave the Braves runners at second and third with one out.  Sophomore Jillian Navarro drove in pinch runner Sydney Young from third with a groundout.  A two-out double by Zaluske, who was 2-for-3 in the game, plated another run and trimmed the Louisville lead to 7-5.

Mead reached base for the third time in her five plate appearances with a four-pitch walk and represented the tying run at first base.  Louisville hurler Taylor Roby got a strikeout to close out the win for the Cardinals, however, to improve to 3-1 on the year.

Bradley continues play at the Tennessee Invitational with a 6:30 p.m. game against tournament-host and seventh-ranked Tennessee.  

Tennessee 8, Bradley 0

Tennessee pitcher Caylan Arnold held Bradley softball to one hit as the 7th-ranked Volunteers topped the Braves 8-0 Sunday night at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium to wrap up the opening day of play at the Tennessee Invitational.

Junior Brooklyn Bane collected Bradley’s only hit on the night with a pinch hit single to leadoff the seventh.

The Braves (5-7 overall) stranded a runner in the top of the first after a two-out walk by junior Allison Apke and also left a runner on in the second when sophomore Stacia Seeton was hit by a pitch to open the frame.

Tennessee (11-2 overall) took advantage of a Bradley error in the bottom of the second to take a 2-0 lead.  Kaili Phillips reached on a one-out error and would later score the first run of the game on a RBI single by Haley Bearden.  The Volunteers added a run when the Braves threw out a runner at second on an attempted double steal to jump in front 2-0.

A three-run homer off the bat of Ashley Morgan in the bottom of the third pushed the Tennessee lead to 5-0.

Arnold worked around a walk to Apke to leadoff the fourth and the Volunteers added a run in the bottom half of the frame on a sacrifice fly to build a 6-0 lead.

Bane’s infield single to start the top of the fifth broke up the no-hit bid, but Arnold settled down to get a lineout and back-to-back strikeouts to end the Bradley threat.

The Volunteers tacked on an unearned run in the fifth and closed out the 8-0 victory with a run in the sixth.  A hit batter and infield single to open the inning put two runners on and Chelsea Seggern ended the contest with a two-out RBI single to right.

Bradley closes out play at the Tennessee Invitational Monday with games against Virginia at 8 a.m. (CST) along with a rematch with Louisville at 10:30 a.m. (CST).