Deciding game set for Sunday
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Three home runs in the second game saw the University of Evansville softball team split a doubleheader with Indiana State on Saturday at Price Field.
Indiana State (14-28, 8-9 MVC) opened the day with a 6-0 win before the Purple Aces (21-21, 9-10 MVC) were able to regroup and earn a strong 11-2 win in the second game, deciding it in five innings.
“I am so proud of the way the girls responded in game two. We know adversity will strike, but what defines you is how you respond,†Aces head coach Mat Mundell said. “Today the team stepped up and gave themselves a chance at another series win.â€
Three Aces homered in the 11-2 win in game two as Danielle Freeman started it off. Freeman led off the second inning with a solo shot to right, giving the Aces the lead for good. The majority of the offensive output came in a 6-run second inning. With two runners on and one out, Morgan Florey hit her fifth long ball of the season, making it a 4-0 game.
With two outs, Hayli Scott walked and would score on a Morgan Lambert double. Michal Luckett and Susan Norris also had RBI hits in the inning.
Evansville tacked on four more runs in the top of the fourth as Scott had an RBI double and Lambert followed it with a 3-run shot, her fourth homer of the season, to give UE an 11-0 lead. The Sycamores scored two in the bottom of the fifth, but the Aces grabbed the 11-2 win. Florey went the distance in the circle, giving up two runs on five hits en route to her 14th win of the year.
ISU pitcher Taylor Lockwood was the story in the first game. The senior threw a 6-hit shutout as the Sycamores opened the day with a 6-0 win. The Sycamores posted three runs in the second and two in the third to take a 5-0 lead before adding one more in the fifth to earn the win.
Six Aces recorded hits in the game, including doubles from Chandra Parr and Hayli Scott. It was the tenth of the year for each. Florey pitched the first four innings for UE before Emily Lockhart went the final two frames.
Tomorrow, the third and deciding contest will begin at 11 a.m. CT.
