U of E Ladies Offense Improves In Second Day Of Frost Classic

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Aces Score 11 Runs In Two Games

 CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – In a pair of games on Saturday, the University of Evansville softball team scored 11 runs in contests against Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois in the Frost Classic.

UE (2-10) rallied in game one against the Panthers, scoring four runs in the seventh before the Panthers plated three runs in the ninth to take a 9-6 win.  In game two, the Leathernecks took a 7-0 lead and held on for the 9-5 victory.

Morgan Florey started game one for the Aces and threw all nine innings.  Of the nine runs that scored, just six were earned.  She also struck out 12.  The game was scoreless until the top of the 5th when Eastern Illinois scored three times.  Haley Mitchell had the big hit – a 2-run single.

The Aces came back with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the fifth.  Elyse Hickey hit a 1-out single to short before Eryn Gould hit a home run to left-center to cut the deficit to one.  Three unearned runs scored for the Panthers in the sixth as they pushed their lead to 6-2.

That is how it would be until the bottom of the seventh.  Brittany Hay led off with her first homer of the day.  With one out, Gould singled up the middle to bring up Lindsay Renneisen.  The freshman cut the Aces deficit to one with a homer to left.  UE continued to threaten as McKenzie Johnson and Morgan Florey each registered a hit.  Bailee Bostic tied the game with a 1-out single.

Eastern Illinois was able to get the final two outs to force extra innings.  Following a scoreless eighth, the Panthers added three runs in the ninth to take a 9-6 victory.  Gould was 2-4 from the plate with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.  Hickey also had two hits in the game.

Another quick turnaround saw the Aces right back on the field to face Western Illinois.  Taking advantage of the momentum she created against EIU, Brittany Hay hit a leadoff home run to give UE a 1-0 lead.  The Leathernecks tied it right up in the bottom of the frame on a Hailey Duwa RBI single.

Fortunes changed in the bottom of the fourth when Western Illinois scored six times with Sidney Bottino bringing two home with a single up the middle.  Evansville looked to make a comeback in the fifth, plating three runs.  One run scored on a Hickey double and two found the home plate on a Gould triple.  The Aces cut the deficit to 7-5 on an Alex Latoria sacrifice fly in the sixth, but WIU added two more in the bottom of the sixth to take a 9-5 win.

Tomorrow, the Aces look to finish the weekend off with a win as they face Chattanooga in a 10:30 a.m. CT game.

 FOOTNOTES:    INFO: For all of the latest information on University of Evansville softball, log on to the sports page on GoPurpleAces.com or follow the program on Twitter via @UEAthletics_SB.

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