Aces score 20 runs in two games
PEORIA, Ill. – A total of 20 runs crossed the plate as the University of Evansville softball team split a doubleheader at Bradley on Saturday afternoon.
Evansville (14-16, 2-6 MVC) opened the day with an 11-2 win in six innings before Bradley (10-18, 5-3 MVC) picked up the second game, 13-9.
“I thoughts we did a great job of scoring runs today,†UE head coach Mat Mundell said. “We played great in all aspects in game one. In the second game, we let one inning get away from us. Bradley took advantage and that was the difference.â€
Evansville’s offense came on strong late in Tuesday’s win over UT Martin and kept that momentum going in Peoria. The Aces offense erupted for 11 runs off of 17 hits. Bradley took a 1-0 lead in the first before Evansville took the lead for good in the top of the second. Kristin Koepke hit a 2-run home run to left field, marking the first of her career.
Courtney Land’s RBI single in the third game UE a 3-1 advantage before the Braves saw their second run cross the plate in the bottom of the frame. In the top of the fourth, a Morgan Lambert RBI knock got that run back before the offense scored a total of seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Hayli Scott had an RBI double while Olivia Cheatham brought two runs home in the fifth.
In the sixth, Danielle Freeman plated the first run with a single. Morgan Florey’s third hit of the day saw two more score before Susan Norris completed the scoring with a sacrifice fly. Four Aces notched three hits apiece including: Michal Luckett, Land, Florey and Scott. Florey made the start for UE, going the distance in giving up two runs on six hits. She struck out seven.
Bradley scored in each of the first three innings of the second game as they went up by a score of 13-4. After recording a pair of runs in each of the first two innings, the Braves scored nine times in the third, just after Evansville took a 5-4 lead.
Trailing 4-1 entering the frame, Susan Norris got UE within one on a double that scored Kori Keyes and Chandra Parr. Two more scored on a Lambert single. The difference came in Bradley’s half of the third as they plated nine runs on just four hits to open up a 13-5 lead.
The Purple Aces did not give up as they scored two runs in the 5th and 6th innings, including a Norris home run. That is as close as they would get as Bradley hung on for the 13-9 win. Norris had four RBIs in the second game on three hits. Parr also recorded two hits.
On Sunday, the teams will settle the series with a single game at noon.
