Stellar Pitching Leads UE Softball To Friday Wins

Aces Go 2-0 In Day One

The opening day of the Hilltopper Spring Fling was a good one for the University of Evansville softball team as the Purple Aces defeated Austin Peay by a 4-1 final before shutting out Dayton, 1-0, to wrap up the day.

“Our pitching staff was outstanding today!  All of our pitchers did a great job to keep the offenses off balance,” Aces head coach Mat Mundell said.  “Offensively, we were able to do enough to win both games.  We made some adjustments this week and I am glad to see if translate into wins.”

Morgan Florey made the start in game one and had one of the best outings of her career, striking out 18 Austin Peay batters.  It was her career-high.  Evansville’s offense raked up 13 hits with Allison Daggett leading all players with three.  Brittany Hay, Eryn Gould, Florey and Lindsay Renneisen each had two apiece.

UE’s offense scored the opening run of the game in the first inning when Elyse Hickey singled to right to plate Daggett.  Single runs would later score in the second and third frames.  Florey opened the second with a single and would later score on a Hay base knock.  The run in the third was brought home off a Renneisen single.

Evansville put the icing on the cake in the bottom half of the sixth when Hay notched a 1-out triple before scoring on another Daggett single.  The Governors rallied in the seventh, finally scoring a run and leaving two runners stranded before Florey closed the door to help the Aces win by a 4-1 final.

In game two, Jaime Nurrenbern and Ashleigh Downing put on another pitching clinic, combining to hold Dayton to just three hits in a 1-0 shutout.  Nurrenbern allowed one hit through four innings while Downing tossed the final three frames, giving up just two hits.

The run for the Aces scored in the top of the sixth as Hickey had another productive at-bat, scoring Brittany Hay.  That was the game-winner as Downing finished the game with a scoreless seventh inning.

Tomorrow, Evansville takes on host Western Kentucky in a 12:30 p.m. game with the time and opponent for the second contest to be determined.