(LEBANON, Ill., March 21)- The McKendree Bearcats used some late game heroics and solid play Wednesday on their way to a doubleheader sweep over William Woods 6-5 in game one and 8-4 in game two.
After a scoreless first inning, William Woods came out hot in the second inning scoring three runs to take early advantage. The Bearcats countered in the fourth inning, when leftfielder Amber Nikolauzyk (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah HS) (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) reached on an error by the third basemen with the bases loaded to score shortstop Courtney Aldridge (Dupo, Ill./Dupo) (Dupo, Ill./Dupo). Centerfielder Kayla White (Buncombe, Ill./Vienna HS) drew a walk to score Leah Cometto (Coulterville, Ill./Coulterville) followed by a single by pinch hitter Becky Sommer (Freeburg, Ill./Freeburg) (Freeburg, Ill./Freeburg) which scored both Nikolauzyk and rightfielder Andrea Hawkins (St. Peters, Mo./Ft. Zumwalt South), giving the Bearcats a 4-3 lead.
The Owls struck again in the fifth inning, scoring two runs to retake the lead. White of McKendree doubled in the bottom of the sixth, scoring Hawkins to tie up the game 5-5. The Bearcats would hold the Owls scoreless in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for Cometto’s two-out walk-off homerun to win game one, 6-5/
White led the Bearcats at the plate, going 2-3 with two RBI’s. Lindsey Christensen (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) got the win, throwing seven innings, giving up 11 hits and striking out four.
Game two saw McKendree jump out to an early lead, scoring White off a sacrifice fly by catcher Angie Maue (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin HS) (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin) in the first inning and rightfielder Molly Reed (Carrollton, Ill./Carrollton) (Carrollton, Ill./Carrollton) drew a bases loaded walk to score Cometto in the second, giving an early 2-0 advantage to the Bearcats.
McKendree struck again in the third inning, when Nikolauzyk scored on a wild pitch followed by third baseman Rachel Ferguson (Chatham, Ill./Glenwood) (Chatham, Ill./Glenwood) crossing the plate on a sacrifice fly by Aldridge. A double by leftfielder Andrea Hawkins (St. Peters, Mo./Ft. Zumwalt South) scored Cometto to increase the Bearcats lead, 5-0.
After a William Woods run in the bottom of the third cut the Beacats lead to four, a single by first baseman Sloane Hertlein (Harrisburg, Ill./Harrisburg) (Harrisburg, Ill./Harrisburg) brought in Sommer, making the score 6-1.
The Owls would score two in the bottom of the fourth and another one in the sixth to come within two, but the Bearcats added two runs in the top of the seventh off a double by White to put things out of reach for William Woods, giving McKendree a 8-4 win.
McKendree was led by Hawkins at the plate, going 3-4 with an RBI. Colene Pogue (Mason, Ill./Waltonville) picked up the win after throwing seven innings, giving up five hits and striking out three. The win puts the Bearcats (10-4) in first-place in the American Midwest Conference and they hope to continue their winning ways Thursday when they host Lindenwood University at 2:00 p.m. at Bearcat Field.
