Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE 1] [BOX SCORE 2] Missouri Baptist put up eight runs in the first inning of game one and never looked back Saturday afternoon. The Spartans swept St. Louis College of Pharmacy, 11-0 and 9-0, on Senior Day.
The seniors led the charge for Missouri Baptist (28-22, 14-10) on the day set aside to honor their careers. The quartet of Sierra Thompson, Deanna Peters, Payton Anderson and Amanda Williams combined to go 13-23 (.565) at the plate with nine RBI's.
Three of the four have been with the program for all four years. The two wins gave the team its 28th win, the most since 2012, the year before the senior group arrived to campus.
The underclassmen got things go early on for MBU, which started with an eight-run first inning. All eight runs scored with two outs. Andrea Chessor doubled home two runs with the bases loaded to start the scoring. Shelby Poropat then followed with a two-RBI single to put MBU ahead 4-0. Sarah Strothkamp tripled home two more runs later in the inning and dashed home from third base moments later to make it 7-0. Anderson singled home the eighth and final run of the inning.
Anderson struck again in the third to add to the lead. Thompson tripled home a run moments earlier and Anderson brought her home with a two-run blast over the outfield fence. The home run was the 24th of her career, tying the All-Time home run record at MBU.
Chessor and Jolyn Lake combined to shutout the Eutectics inside the circle. The two allowed just four hits in five innings to coast in the 11-0 win. Thompson, Anderson and Poropat all had multi-hit games in game one.
The offense started slow in the finale, before scoring eight runs in the final two innings to end the game after six. Chessor continued to dazzle inside the circle, allowing just three hits in six innings of work.
The game stood at just 1-0 in favor of MBU after the top of the fifth, until the offense turned things on. All four runs in the fifth inning also came with two outs. Thompson began the two-out magic with a base hit to score Peters, who singled earlier in the inning. Anderson followed with a hit and Williams brought them both home with a two-RBI double to extend the lead to 4-0. Williams scored when Rachel Garcia doubled her home moments later.
Chessor tossed a 1-2-3 sixth inning to allow for another offensive explosion in the bottom half. A walk and two singles loaded the bases with nobody out for Adrianna Ross. Ross doubled to left field to score Peters and Meagan Elder to make it 7-0 in favor of the Spartans. Fittingly, the senior Thompson ended the Senior Day doubleheader with a two-RBI single to score both Ross and Pam Diaz. The big hit put the Spartans ahead 9-0 and cut the game short due to the run rule.
Anderson picked up two more hits in game two, while Peters and Thompson had three hits each. The Spartans continue the regular season on Monday against Southwest Baptist. First pitch is set for 2:00 pm.
