(LEBANON, ILL., April 24)- The fourth-seeded McKendree University softball team finished day one of the American Midwest Conference softball tournament with a record of 1-1, losing game one to No. 5 seed Williams Baptist College 2-0 in 10 innings, before winning game two against No. 8 seed Hannibal-LaGrange College, 4-1.
McKendree, now 23-17 overall, will play No. 6 seed University of Illinois-Springfield Friday at noon in an elimination game. The winner will face the winner of No. 3 seed Missouri Baptist University and Williams Baptist at 4 p.m.
In game one, the Bearcats looked like they would end the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, when junior outfielder Kayla White (Buncombe, Ill./Vienna HS) (Buncombe, Ill./Vienna) hit a triple with one out. Senior outfielder Molly Reed (Carrollton, Ill./Carrollton) (Carrollton, Ill./Carrollton) drew a walk and stole second to place runners on second and third. Senior first baseman Rachael Ostertag (O' Fallon, Mo./Francis Howell) (O'Fallon, Ill./Francis Howell) reached first on a dropped third strike, loading the bases with only one out, but McKendree would strand all three, following with two flyouts to end the inning. The Lady Eagles capitalized on the opportunity and the windy conditions, hitting a double to left field with runners on first and second to take a 2-0 lead. McKendree ended the game with a strikeout and two flyouts.
Junior pitcher Amy Quirin (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West HS) (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) fell to 8-9 on the season, throwing ten innings and striking out ten in the loss. White and second baseman Christine Juehne (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin HS) (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin) both had two hits in the loss.
In game two, McKendree took advantage of five errors by Hannibal-LaGrange to win 4-1. McKendree scored all their runs in the top of the first inning, starting with Reed scoring from third on an error by the third baseman. Junior catcher Angie Maue (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin HS) (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin) and Juehne both scored on an error by the rightfielder and a single by freshman second baseman Ashley Parrott (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) scored freshman third baseman Nicole Steele (Danville, Ill./Schlarman) (Danville, Ill./Schlarman) to take the 4-0 lead.
The Lady Trojans scored one run in the bottom of the seventh, but senior pitcher Colene Pogue (Mason, Ill./Waltonville) (Mason, Ill./Waltonville) struck out one and forced a flyout and a groundout to end the game. Pogue struck out nine on her way to her eighth win of the season and Steele and Juehne both had two hits and a run scored at the plate.
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