(ST. LOUIS, Mo., April 21)—The McKendree University softball team took one of two games Saturday afternoon in Great Lakes Valley Conference action at Maryville University. The Bearcats rallied late to win the opener 5-2 before the Saints used a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to salvage the split, 5-4.
McKendree is now 33-14 overall and 16-8 in the GLVC. The Bearcats will return to action Monday afternoon with another conference twinbill at Missouri S&T. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. in Rolla, Mo.
Senior
Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest) wielded a big bat for McKendree with four hits at Maryville, driving in four runs in the doubleheader. Gajewski also slammed her team-leading 12
th home run of the season, a two-run blast in the first inning of the nightcap, into a strong wind blowing in from left field. Freshman
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) added five hits on the day, including three in game one. She also tossed her 12
th complete game of the season in the Bearcats' game one triumph, giving up just four hits and one earned run while fanning four batters.
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) pushed her season record in the circle to 18-5.
Maryville (22-19-1, 9-13 GLVC) scored single runs in the first and fourth innings of the opener to build a 2-0 lead. McKendree got the offense in gear in the top of the sixth inning with two runs to pull even at 2-2. Senior catcher
Rebecca Franke (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin) and
Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest) led off with back-to-back singles before
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) blooped a third single over the first-base bag to load the bases. Sophomore infielder
Caitlyn Lowry (St. Louis, MO/Notre Dame) stepped in next and ripped a two-run single to left-center field to help the Bearcats knot the contest.
In the top of the seventh, McKendree continued its offensive surge with three runs to take the lead for good. Sophomore
Hannah Murphy (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt North) delivered a one-out double to put the go-ahead run on base. Murphy moved to third on a groundout and scored on a Saints' error to give the Bearcats a 3-2 advantage. Brooke and
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) later produced back-to-back RBI hits with two outs to stretch the margin to three runs.
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) then recorded the final three outs to finish off the game one victory.
McKendree wasted little time in taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the nightcap. Franke worked a one-out walk, and
Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest) followed four pitches later by belting her two-run home run over the left-field fence. In the third inning,
Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest) laced a run-scoring single to left field to score senior infielder
Tylin Stephens (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs), who led off the frame with a bunt single. Maryville answered with three runs in the bottom of the third to knot the score at 3-3. The teams remained deadlocked through seven innings, leading to the Bearcats' second extra-inning game of 2018.
In the top of the eighth, Stephens drew a leadoff walk and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Lowry to put McKendree in front at 4-3. Maryville then put together a rally in the bottom of the eighth, and Alyssa Callans sent the home fans home happy with a two-run, walk-off home run to help the Saints secure a split.
