Aces drop both contests
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ST. CHARLES, Mo. – A pair of late rallies saw Lindenwood pick up two victories over the University of Evansville softball team on Tuesday afternoon at the Lou Brock Complex.
Game 1 – Lindenwood 7, UE 6 (8 innings)
Trailing by a 5-0 margin, Lindenwood scored seven runs in the final four innings to pick up a 7-6 win in the first game of the doubleheader.
Evansville struck first with a pair of runs in the second inning. Jess Willsey reached on a 1-out single and Jenna Nink followed with a triple to right center to score Willsey for the first run of the game. After Sydney Kalonihea was hit by a pitch, Taylor Howe laced a 2-out single to left, bringing in Nink for the second run of the frame.
One inning later, the lead doubled for UE as two more runs would score. Zoe Frossard drew a walk with one out and Willsey followed with a triple to add another run. Later in the inning, Willsey made it a 4-0 game when she scored on a stolen base attempt by Dori Brown. Alexa Davis was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth to extend the lead to 5-0.
Lindenwood stormed back in the bottom half of the 5th, scoring three times. UE got one of those runs back in the sixth thanks to the second RBI triple of the afternoon by Jenna Nink. Just when it looked like momentum was back on Evansville’s side, the Lions added three more tallies to tie the game in the bottom of the frame. An error by the Aces, coupled with three walks, saw Lindenwood knot the score at 6-6.
In the eighth, the Lions saw their first two batters reach before Irelynn West had the game-winning hit. Theresa Snaidauf led Lindenwood with a 2-4 game with two runs scored. West had three RBI in the game. Willsey went 3-5 with three runs and an RBI for UE. Mikayla Jolly made the start for the Aces, allowing one hit in three innings. Elle Jarrett gave up five runs, four earned, in 2 1/3 innings while Sydney Weatherford saw one run score while walking three in 2/3 inning. Erin Kleffman tossed the seventh and eighth and allowed the final run.
Game 2 – Lindenwood 4, UE 3
With Evansville holding a 3-1 lead, Lindenwood scored three runs in the fifth inning before finishing with a 4-3 win in the second game of the doubleheader. The Lions took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame before the Aces countered with three runs in the second.
Jess Willsey led the inning off with a home run before Hannah Hood laced a double down the left field line. Marah Wood followed up with an RBI single to score Hood. With two outs, Wood scored on a Taylor Howe sacrifice fly. After picking up three hits in the frame, the Aces recorded just two more over the final five innings as the Lions staged another late rally.
Two hits and an error in the bottom of the fifth saw Lindenwood retake the lead before completing the 1-run victory. Hood recorded two of the Aces’ five hits in the game while the Lions totaled four. Megan Brenton made the start, allowing one run on two hits in four innings of work. Paige McAllister tossed the final two frames and gave up three runs, one being earned. This weekend, the Aces are back home for a 3-game set versus Belmont.
