(CHATHAM, Ill., March 31)—The McKendree University softball team saw its nine-game win streak come to an end Saturday as the University of Illinois Springfield won both ends of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader. The Prairie Stars registered a 9-5 win in the opener before taking game two 5-1. Both contests were played at Glenwood High School in Chatham, Ill.
McKendree moves to 24-9 overall and sits at 10-4 in GLVC play. The Bearcats will have a week off before returning to action next Saturday – April 7 – with a league twinbill at William Jewell College. First pitch is set for noon in Liberty, Mo.
Four different McKendree players – senior
Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest), sophomore
Hannah Murphy (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt North) and freshmen
Shelby Summer (Washington, IL/Washington) and
Haegen Boyer (Eddyville, IA/Eddyville) – each recorded three hits on the day against UIS. Gajewski and Boyer each blasted a home run on the day, while senior catcher
Rebecca Franke (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin) scored a pair of runs for the Bearcats.
Boyer gave McKendree a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when she belted a leadoff home run. It was Boyer's fifth round-tripper of the season. Illinois Springfield (23-10, 10-2 GLVC) countered by scoring three runs in the third inning and another in the fourth to build a 4-1 advantage. The Prairie Stars then added another tally in the top of the sixth to stretch the margin to 5-1 before McKendree rallied.
Summer started the Bearcats' comeback in the bottom of the sixth with a one-out single. Senior infielder Tyler Stephens followed with a single before Boyer brought home Summer with an RBI single to trim the deficit to 5-2.
After Franke reached on a fielder's choice,
Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest) tied the contest at 5-5 with a three-run home run. The blast was Gajewski's eighth of the season, adding to her team lead.
However, UIS plated four runs in the top of the seventh to take the lead for good. Freshman
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) was charged with just her second loss of the season in the circle, moving to 14-2 on the year.
The nightcap was scoreless until the fourth inning, when Illinois Springfield pushed across three runs to take a 3-0 lead. The Prairie Stars added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take a 5-0 cushion into the Bearcats' final at-bat. McKendree mounted one final rally, loading the bases before Murphy delivered an RBI single to get McKendree on the scoreboard. The Bearcats brought the tying run to the plate two more times in the inning, but UIS wiggled out of the jam to finish off the sweep.
