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McKendree University Athletics

Schedule

MGajewski_WJC_GLVC18
Greg Richard
Miranda Gajewski tossed her 15th complete game of the season to collect win No. 21
1
William Jewell WJC 28-21
4
Winner McKendree MCK 38-14
William Jewell WJC
28-21
1
Final
4
McKendree MCK
38-14
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
William Jewell WJC 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 2
McKendree MCK 1 0 0 0 3 0 X 4 7 0

W: Gajewski, Miranda (21-5) L: Lewis, S. (7-6)

Game Recap: Softball |

No. 25 McKendree Kicks Off GLVC Tournament with 4-1 Victory over William Jewell

2018 GLVC TOURNAMENT BRACKET
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

(EAST PEORIA, Ill., May 3)—The McKendree University softball team opened its run at the 2018 Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship Tournament with a 4-1 victory Thursday afternoon against William Jewell College at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill.
 
Freshman Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) picked up her 21st victory this season by tossing a complete-game four-hitter to lead the way for the Bearcats. She also added a two-run double during a three-run outburst that broke the game open for McKendree in the bottom of the fifth inning.
 
Senior designated player Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest) belted her team-leading 15th home run of the season to get the Bearcats on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning, while senior infielder Tylin Stephens (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) chipped in with an RBI single in the contest for McKendree.
 
McKendree, the No. 25-ranked team in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II poll, improves to 38-14 on the year and advances to a GLVC Tournament second-round meeting against the University of Southern Indiana. The Bearcats and Screaming Eagles will square off at approximately 4 p.m.
 
After William Jewell (28-21) was retired in order in the top of the first inning, McKendree wasted little time in grabbing an early lead. Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest) stepped to the batter's box with two outs and drilled a solo homer over the left field fence to push the Bearcats in front 1-0. With 15 homers, Gajewski is just one shy of the program's single-season mark of 16 round-trippers, which was set by Angie Maue back in 2006.
 
McKendree held its one-run lead until the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Bearcats erupted for three runs in the frame. Freshman outfielder Shelby Summer (Washington, IL/Washington) led off with a walk and moved to second on a single by sophomore outfielder Abbie Bailey (Tinley Park, IL/Andrew). Stephens stepped in next and ripped a run-scoring single to left-center field to score Summer with the first run of the inning. Two batters later, Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest) drew a walk to load the bases before Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) delivered a two-run double to the left-center field gap. That brought home Bailey and Stephens to extend the Bearcats' advantage to 4-0.
 
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) then limited the Cardinals the rest of the way as she carried a shutout into the seventh inning. William Jewell plated a run with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Gajewski induced a game-ending groundout to freshman third baseman Haegen Boyer (Eddyville, IA/Eddyville) to seal the Bearcats' victory. It marked Gajewski's 15th complete game of the season.
 
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