(EVANSVILLE, Ind., April 29)—The McKendree University softball team, ranked No. 25 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II poll, wrapped up the regular season portion of its 2018 season Sunday by taking both ends of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader at the University of Southern Indiana. The Bearcats rallied to take each contest by identical scores of 6-3.
With its two victories on Sunday, McKendree finishes the regular season with an overall record of 37-14. The 37 wins are the most for the Bearcats since 2007, when the team won 41 contests. McKendree posted a 20-8 record in conference play and was able to clinch the No. 2 seed in the upcoming GLVC Tournament. The official bracket for the 2018 GLVC Championship – which will be held May 3-6 at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill. – will be released Sunday evening.
Senior catcher
Rebecca Franke (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin) was the hitting star for McKendree on Sunday with five hits in the doubleheader, which included two doubles, a home run and four RBI in the sweep. Franke was 3-for-4 and drove in three runs in the opener. Freshman
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) added three RBI on the day while she picked up her 20
th victory in the circle in game one. Gajewski is just the second McKendree pitcher to win 20 games in a single season.
In game one, Southern Indiana (27-22, 15-13 GLVC) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning before McKendree cut the deficit in half in the fourth inning. Franke deposited the second pitch of her at-bat over the left-center field fence to help the Bearcats get within 2-1. McKendree then erupted for four runs in the sixth inning to take the lead for good at 5-2. Sophomore outfielder
Abbie Bailey (Tinley Park, IL/Andrew) led off with a single. Senior infielder
Tylin Stephens (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) then reached on an error before Franke delivered a run-scoring double to the gap in right-center field to plate Bailey with the tying run.
Two batters later,
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) posted a two-run single up the middle to bring home Stephens and Franke to give McKendree a 4-2 advantage. Freshman infielder
Haegen Boyer (Eddyville, IA/Eddyville) capped the four-run outburst with an RBI to plate Gajewski, giving the Bearcats a three-run advantage.
Franke added her third run-scoring hit of the contest, an RBI single in the seventh inning, to stretch the McKendree lead to 6-2. The Screaming Eagles then plated a run in the bottom of the seventh before
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) induced a double play grounder to seal the game one victory. Gajewski scattered seven hits and struck out two in collecting her milestone 20
th win.
Game two was scoreless until the fourth inning, when McKendree struck first. Stephens led off with a single and moved to second base after a single by Franke. A double-steal put both runners in scoring position before Stephens raced home on an RBI groundout from
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest). Southern Indiana answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead.
The Bearcats then put together a four-run rally in the top of the fifth inning to move back in front at 5-2. Freshman
Konnor Arrowood (Fulton, MO/South Callaway) opened things with a one-out single before senior catcher
Paige Fleeman (Salem, Ill./Christ Our Rock Lutheran) came up as a pinch-hitter and blasted a two-run homer to give McKendree the lead for good at 3-2. Franke then provided another RBI hit with a run-scoring double as the final run scored on an error to stretch the Bearcats' lead to three runs.
After the Screaming Eagles scored a run to pull within 5-3 in the sixth inning, McKendree added a key insurance run in its final at-bat. Sophomore
Hannah Murphy (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt North) struck out but reached first on a passed ball. Murphy then came around to score on a USI error to help the Bearcats regain a three-run advantage. Murphy then nailed down the final three outs to earn her first save of 2018.
