ST. LOUIS—[GAME 1 BOX] [GAME 2 BOX] MBU Softball extended its winning streak to three with a sweep of St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Monday afternoon. The Spartans are now 22-9 on the season.
It took a while for the bats to heat up in game one as Eutectics' pitcher Mackenzie White held MBU in check for four innings. It wasn't until the fifth that the Spartans broke out. Two hit batters and a single loaded the bases with two outs for Caitlin McNiff. The sophomore promptly launched her ninth home run of the season over the left field fence. The grand slam gave the Spartans a 4-1 lead.
Missouri Baptist then drew four walks in the sixth inning to go along with two singles. That led to five more runs and ended the game on the 'eight after five' rule.
After a rocky first inning, Spartan starting pitcher Baleigh Koester settled in and held the Eutectics to just two hits in the remaining five innings to earn the win.
Game two was another pitchers' duel as the teams combined for four hits in the first four and a half innings. The fifth was once again the breakthrough inning for Missouri Baptist. Ally Gischer led off with a double and advanced to third on a bunt single from Jordan Corby. The hero of game one, Caitlin McNiff, then came through again with a two-RBI single to give the navy and white a 2-0 lead.
College of Pharmacy tied the game with two in the sixth and the sides entered the bottom of the seventh deadlocked. With one out, McNiff singled and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Meagan Elder. Meaghan Mollet then stepped in and delivered the game-winning hit to score McNiff for a 3-2 final score.
Koester threw her second complete of the game of the day and improved to 13-6 on the season. After whiffing eight in game one, she struck out four more in the second game and, in the process, eclipsed 100 strikeouts for the season.
The Spartans return to action on Tuesday for a doubleheader against Westminster College. Start time in Fulton, Mo. is set for 3 pm. They'll return home on Wednesday for a DH with Culver-Stockton College.
