Aces shut out Stephen F. Austin and Morehead State
MONROE, La. – Pitching was the dominant force for the University of Evansville softball team, who opened its 2022 campaign with a pair of victories on Friday in the Best of the Bayou Classic.
UE started the day with a 5-0 win over Stephen F. Austin before shutting down Morehead State in a 4-0 victory. Izzy Vetter struck out 10 batters in the opener, tossing the full seven innings while allowing just one hit. Sydney Weatherford was the starter in game two, tossing seven scoreless frames before giving way to Paige McAllister. Weatherford struck out six MSU batters while allowing four hits. McAllister threw two scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win. In 16 innings of play on Friday, the Aces pitching staff allowed just five hits.
Alyssa Barela belted her first home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the second in Friday’s opener versus SFA. After Vetter sat the Jacks down in order in the third, the Evansville offense added two more ruins in the bottom half of the inning. Marah Wood belted a 2-RBI double to score Weatherford and Jessica Fehr to push the lead to 3-0.
After the offense gave her some breathing room, Vetter mowed through the SFA lineup, retiring 12 batters in a row between the 2ndand 6th frames. Two more runs crossed the plate in the bottom half of the 6th when Jenna Nink and Hannah Hood scored with two outs when Fehr reached on an error. Vetter took care of business in the 7th and clinched the shutout win.
Game two saw Morehead State put a pair of runners on in the first before UE recorded two hits in the second, but neither team could get the first run across home plate. With two outs in the 2nd, Jenna Lis singled before advancing to third on a double by Hood, but a strikeout ended the threat. Evansville put runners in scoring position on two occasions with the Eagles shutting down the threat both times.
In the circle, Weatherford was stellar in her Aces debut. Seven scoreless frames gave her squad a chance and in the 9th inning, UE broke through. Wood began the inning on second base and moved to third when Barela reached on a passed ball. After Hood reached on an error, Alexa Davis had the big hit, doubling in the first run of the game to break the tie. Mackenzie McFeron followed up with a single that plated Davis and Hood before Fehr belted a 2-out double to score McFeron and push the lead to 4-0.
McAllister returned to the circle in the bottom half of the 9th and kept the shutout intact while clinching the 4-0 decision. On Saturday, the Aces open the day with a 10 a.m. game versus Southern before taking on Mississippi Valley State.
