Marah Wood Leads UE Offense
University of Evansville freshman Marah Wood had a doubleheader for the ages, going a perfect 6-6 with a grand slam, eight RBI, four runs scored and a 1.000 on-base percentage to lead the Purple Aces to a doubleheader sweep over Purdue Fort Wayne in Saturday’s home opener at Cooper Stadium.
In the opening game, the Purple Aces (8-4) took an 8-1 win over the Mastodons (0-2) before wrapping up the day with an 11-3 triumph.
GAME 1
Evansville was the first to find the scoreboard in game one when a Marah Wood single brought home Eryn Gould, who also singled in the bottom of the first. Purdue Fort Wayne got on the board in the top of the third on a solo home run by Rachel Everson. The Aces wasted little time getting that run right back as they used some 2-out magic to retake the lead. With two batters down, Jessica Fehr drew a walk to bring Wood up to the plate. The freshman came through once again, hitting a deep double to score Fehr. Jenna Lis was up next and hit a long double of her own to put the Aces back in front by a 3-1 tally.
In the fifth inning, the Aces added some insurance with a 4-spot that sealed an 8-1 victory. Wood opened up with her third hit of the day and Jenna Lis followed with a long home run to left. With two outs, Gould capped off the scoring with a 2-RBI single. Izzy Vetter held strong from there, earning her fourth win of the season with the complete game effort. She gave up three hits while striking out 11. Her strikeout total tied her career mark, which was set just seven days ago against Green Bay.
Wood was a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI while Gould finished with three hits in four plate appearances. She added two RBI. Jenna Lis led the Aces with three RBI. Lis went 2-3 with a run and a walk.
GAME 2
Fresh off of a big win in the opener, the Aces wasted little time striking first in game two. Eryn Gould opened with an infield single before Lindsay Renneisen reached on a walk. The duo advanced to second and third on a wild pitch before Marah Wood delivered a 2-RBI single to open the scoring. Jessica Fehr added a sacrifice fly to score the third run of the frame.
Excellent baserunning by Hannah Hood added UE’s fourth run in the second. Hood drew a leadoff walk before stealing second. When Gould flew out to center, Hood tagged to reach third before scoring on the throw. The Mastodons got on the board with a pair of unearned runs scoring in the top of the third before a single run in the fourth cut the Evansville lead to 4-3. Purdue Fort Wayne chased UE starter Jaime Nurrenbern after three innings of work and loaded the bases up in the fourth against Megan Brenton. Brenton did a nice job of limiting the damage to one run and that made a huge difference heading into the bottom half of the inning.
Singles by Hood and Renneisen, along with Gould being hit by a pitch, loaded up the bases for Marah Wood. In a doubleheader for the ages, Wood added a grand slam to her tally for the day. More importantly, it turned a one-run game into an 8-3 lead for the Purple Aces. UE plated two more in the fifth, including a Mea Adams double that scored Katie McLean. The game ended on an exciting suicide squeeze in the sixth. With Mackenzie McFeron on third, Katie McLean laid down a bunt that brought home the final run with the Aces earning the 11-3 victory.
Nurrenbern picked up her fourth win of the season, going three innings allowing two unearned runs on one hit. Brenton tossed the final three frames, allowing a run on one hit while walking three batters. Wood finished the second game with a 2-2 showing at the plate. She had six RBi including a grand slam while drawing two walks and scoring twice. Hood, Gould and Renneisen also scored two runs apiece.
Another doubleheader is set for Sunday when the Aces and Mastodons meet up at 11 a.m. inside Cooper Stadium.
