Aces defeat St. Thomas and Eastern Kentucky
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Contributions continued to come from all parts of the lineup as the University of Evansville softball team improved to 3-0 with two more victories on Friday in the DePaul Dome Classic.
UE began the day with a 6-2 victory over St. Thomas before improving to 3-0 with a 10-5 triumph over Eastern Kentucky.
GAME 1 – UE 6, St. Thomas 2
Brooke McCorkle recorded two of the Purple Aces’ seven hits in a 6-2 win over the Tommies. Mikayla Jolly scattered just two hits over a scoreless six innings of work with Elle Jarrett coming in for the 7th. UE scored six runs on seven hits with Zoe Frossard crossing the plate twice.
Wasting little time in getting on the board, Evansville plated four runs in the bottom of the first. Taylor Howe led with a walk while Frossard reached on a single. After Marah Wood walked to load the bases, Jess Willsey flew out to left to score Howe. Alexa Davis drew the second free pass of the inning and Hannah Hood was hit by a pitch to bring home the second run. Next up was Brooke McCorkle, who delivered a 2-run single to make it a 4-0 game.
Things remained that way until the bottom of the sixth when the Aces added two more to the tally. Frossard recorded her second RBI of the day when she grounded into a fielder’s choice while a triple by Wood plated the sixth run of the game. St. Thomas scored twice in the seventh, but Evansville fended off the challenge to finish with the 6-2 decision.
GAME 2 – UE 10, Eastern Kentucky 5
It was Zoe Frossard coming through once again, going 2-for-3 with a home run, four RBI and a walk to help the Aces defeat the Colonels. Taylor Howe also picked up two hits. Jess Willsey and Alexa Davis scored two runs apiece. Sydney Weatherford made the start, allowing two runs in four innings. Paige McAllister pitched two innings to earn the win while Megan Brenton tossed a scoreless 7th frame.
Another nice start saw Evansville pick up two runs in the bottom of the first. Howe hit a leadoff double and would score on a home run by Willsey. After EKU scored twice in the top of the second, UE countered immediately.
Alexa Davis led the second off with a home run to right to put the Aces back in front. Hannah Hood doubled to bring up Sydney Kalonihea. Kalonihea doubled to left to bring in Hood before scoring a run of her own on a hit by Frossard. Evansville held a 5-2 lead until the top half of the fifth when the Colonels scored three runs to knot the score once again.
Just as they did earlier in the game, UE had the immediate response. Howe hit a leadoff single and was pinch run for by Dori Brown. Frossard came to the plate and put her team in front, hitting a homer to left. Alexa Davis added an RBI triple in the frame and would later cross the plate on a passed ball to solidify a 9-5 lead. Lacy Smith completed the scoring in the seventh with a solo shot.
On Saturday, the Aces complete the opening weekend with games against Detroit Mercy (2:30 p.m.) and DePaul (5 p.m.).
