LEBANON, Ill. | Bearcat Field - No.20 McKendree University softball (15-6, 3-1 GLVC) began Great Lakes Valley Conference play this past weekend, taking the weekend at 3-1 overall, splitting with William Jewell on Saturday and sweeping Truman State on Sunday. The Bearcats opened the weekend with a 5-0 shutout and then capped it with two Sunday wins. McKendree hits the road for Spring Break with a flurry of games in Branson, Missouri for the second time this spring.
Game 1 | W, 5-0 vs. William Jewell
With conference play starting, the Bearcats looked to kick things off strong and began in just thta fashion as the squad went up in the first inning on a deep double by freshman catcher
Morgan Spodarek for the 1-0 lead. The fourth and fifth innings proved to be the lock for McKendree as the home team posted four runs. It began with sophomore
Molly Bartz dropping a single to right field for junior infielder
Ali Grenzebach to score while freshman
Paisley Twait adding another single to score junior utility
Ellie Vetter. The fifth saw Spodarek add another one-run double while Grenzebach scoring Spodarek shortly after.
Junior
Sami Huck earned teh shutout win with a complete game and nine punch outs.
Game 2 | L, 7-4 (11inn) vs. William Jewell
The Bearcats went down early in the latter matchup on Saturday, as WJC went for two runs in the first inning. McKendree eventually knotted the contest as the Cardinals added two more but the Bearcats put up four runs in the sixth. Game two went into extras with each team battling for supremacy, reaching all the way to the 11th before WJC score three to take the game.
The sixth inning for the Bearcats opened with a double by senior
Sarah Roth, which scored senior outfielder
Heaven Lawrence and Grenzebach. Vetter then sent a sac fly wot score Bartz while junior outfielder
Laynee Tapp knocked a single to score Roth.
Game 1 | W, 5-3 vs. Truman State
Sunday saw the 20th-ranked Bearcats hold an early advantage and never look back in the first of two against the Bulldogs with junior shortstop
Lauren Harris send a long double for two RBIs in the bottom half of the first inning. In the third, Bartz then singled to left field to score Spodarek for a 3-0 lead for the home squad.
Truman State managed to add one back in the fourth but McKendree bounced back quick with two more in the fifth inning as a hit-by-pitch for Grenzebach pushed Huck through to home and then Roth earning a walk tallied another run with Bartz scoring.
The Bearcats held off TSU in the seventh as Huck picked up another win with 10 strikeouts in another complete game on the weekend.
Game 2 | W, 11-7 vs. Truman State
The weekend finale began with Truman taking a lead early with two runs in the second but the McKendree offense was right behind the deficit as Harris launched a homer to cut the Bulldogs' lead to just one. McKendree's third inning opened up the game as it tallied seven runs behind two singles from Bartz and Harris and then a bases-clearing triple by Grenzebach for the first five. Roth then knocked a one-run single before a fielder's choice by Tapp allowed Roth to reach home. Following the big third inning, the Bearcats led 8-3 over TSU.
The Bulldogs battled back but McKendree kept loading up on runs with three more over the fourth and fifth innings, including a grounder by Roth scoring one and a single by Spodarek driving in two more.
Vetter tallied the win for the Bearcats, going five innings with a piar of punch outs.
The sweep over Truman State marked head coach
Heather Tarter's 100th victory at the helm of the Bearcats.
UP NEXT | Branson Spring Break Games
March 11 | vs. Washburn, Minot State
March 12 | vs. Northeastern State, Northern State
March 13 | vs. Augustana, Washburn
Stay up-to-date with Bearcats Softball by following the team on
Instagram and
Twitter.
For more updates and information on McKendree Athletics, please continue to visit
McKBearcats.com and follow us on
Facebook,
Twitter, and
Instagram.
#BearcatsUnleashed #GLVCsb #D2SB
