CLERMONT, Fla. – The Missouri Baptist University softball team snapped a four-game losing streak on Tuesday with victories over Lourdes University and Indiana Institute of Technology, both members of NAIA's Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC). The Spartans nearly pulled off the sweep in their busy, tripleheader, but lost to Lawrence Technological University in a walkoff decided by a questionable catcher obstruction ruling.
With the pair of wins, Missouri Baptist moves to 4-7 on the season with four more contests at the PFX Spring Games in Clermont, Fla. On the docket for Friday is Indiana University at South Bend (7-1) and Concordia University-Ann Arbor (5-3) at 1:30 p.m. ET and 3:45 p.m. ET, respectively.
The 4-0 blanking of Lourdes marked the second shutout of 2019 for the Spartans. Meanwhile, the offense recorded at least five hits in each game and combined to hit .259 on the day.
Collectively, no one had a bigger day offensively than
Caitlin McNiff, the 2018 All-AMC First Team selection and MBU single-season record holder for RBIS. The junior first baseman had a slower start to the year batting .190 through seven games, however, Thursday served as her coming out party. McNiff went 5-for-9 (.555) on the day with a triple, 3 runs and 2 RBIs.
Setting the tone on the rubber for MBU was junior pitcher
Delissa Dennison, who went the distance in the 4-0 shutout of the Lourdes Gray Wolves. Even more impressive was that she tied her career high in strikeouts (13), while allowing just 5 hits and 2 walks.
Missouri Baptist University 4, Lourdes University 0
Missouri Baptist was the first team to score in Game One and did so in the first inning.
Jordan Corby, who has reached base safely in all but one game this season, was brought in by
Cami Meddows.
With the way Dennison performed from the circle, the Spartans didn't a whole lot of run support, but managed to give themselves three more insurance runs in the bottom of the third. Starting things off was catcher
Meagan Elder, who delivered a two-run homer to left field. That was followed by an RBI single by
Amber Mobbs to drive in
Reily Kassay.
McNiff led all players with two hits.
Lawrence Technological University 3, Missouri Baptist University 2
The Spartans got on the scoreboard first with some small ball. Following a
Delissa Dennison single,
Rachel Galbraith laid down a sac bunt to advance pinch runner
Madalyn Bone all the way to third. On the next at-bat,
Sydney Berry grounded out to second, but registered an RBI on the play.
In the bottom of the fourth, Lawrence Tech made a push, exploiting two costly errors by the Spartans. The Blue Devils scored two to take a 2-1 lead heading into the fifth.
It wasn't until the sixth that Missouri Baptist responded. Hitting from the No. 2 spot, shortstop
Ally Gischer tripled down the left field line and reached home on the next play when
Reily Kassay supplied a perfectly-timed sac bunt squeeze to tie the game, 2-2.
In the bottom of the 7
th, Lawrence Tech's Meredith Adams registered a 2-out single to bring around Cherilyn Banas for a play at the plate. In what was too close to call, the home plate umpire ruled in favor of the runner, ending the game on a debatable catcher's obstruction call.
Missouri Baptist University 6, Indiana Institute of Technology 3
Indiana Tech had a hot bat early, but luckily for the Spartans, it cooled off significantly after the first inning. The Warriors recorded three hits in the first, but managed just one run from it.
MBU did most of its damage in the first inning as well.
Jordan Corby and
Madalyn Bone led off the bottom half of the inning with a single and bunt single, respectively. In a favorable situation, Indiana Tech got an out, but then proceeded to make three errors in a row, leading to three runs. Freshman
MaKenzie Harbaugh singled to left to drive in
Ally Gischer, the fourth run of the inning. The Spartans led 4-1 after the first frame.
Warriors' Nicolle Sierra homered in the top of the 4
th to narrow the lead to 4-2, but once again, Missouri Baptist answered.
Madalyn Bone produced an RBI single and then scored off teammate
Caitlin McNiff's single to right.
Ally Dunaway made quick work of Indiana Tech, throwing a complete game in just 70 pitches. The sophomore lefty finished with a stat line of 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 K.
Bone and McNiff both had two hits apiece to lead the way for the Spartans in the third game of the day.
