(LEBANON, Ill., March 31) – The No. 22 McKendree University softball team flashed some power on Wednesday and hit five home runs to sweep an American Midwest Conference doubleheader over Missouri Baptist University, 7-2 and 8-0.
McKendree, now 19-9 overall (5-1 AMC), will travel to St. Louis, Mo., on April 5th to play Harris-Stowe State University in an AMC doubleheader at 2 p.m.
The Spartans took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, only for the Bearcats to tie up the game in the bottom of the inning on a single by junior first baseman Cathy Webb (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah HS) (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) that scored two runs. The Bearcats took a 3-2 lead on a single by senior second baseman Natalee Rujawitz (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon HS) (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) and exploded for four runs in the fourth inning with back-to-back home runs by senior outfielder Nicole Ostertag (O'Fallon, Mo./Francis Howell HS) (O'Fallon, Mo./Francis Howell), a three-run blast, and senior third baseman Lindsay Newbold (Herrin,. Ill./Herrin HS) (Herrin, Ill./Herrin) to push the Bearcats to the 7-2 win. Senior pitcher Katie Ward (White Hall, Ill./North Greene HS) (White Hall, Ill./North Greene) struck out five to improve to 9-4 overall on the season. Ostertag had three hits and three RBI in game one.
The Bearcats took an early 2-0 lead on a two-run home run by senior designated player Liz Dains (Valley Park, Mo./Valley Park HS) (Valley Park, Mo./Valley Park) in the second inning and added one more run on a leadoff home run by senior catcher Angie Maue (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin HS) (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin) in the sixth inning. McKendree exploded again in the seventh inning for five runs, including a three-run home run by Dains, to lead the Bearcats to the 8-0 win. Sophomore pitcher Autumn Allen (Fairview Heights, Ill./Belleville East HS) (Fairview Heights, Ill./Belleville East) only gave up one hit and struck out five to improve to 10-5 overall on the season. Maue had three hits, including a double and a home run, and Dains had two home runs and five RBI in the win.
-McK-
