St. Louis – The Maryville softball team pounded out 21 hits en route to a doubleheader sweep of the University of Illinois-Springfield, 8-4 and 7-2 Sunday afternoon at Weber Field on the campus of Maryville University.
Courtney Ferguson started things off for the Saints in the home half of the first inning with a double and advanced to third on an
Ashley Marks single to put runners at the corners with no outs.
Alyssa Callans smacked a double to left to drive in Ferguson and Marks which gave Maryville a 2-0 lead.
Nikki Taylor stepped in and delivered the Saints fourth straight hit with a single and moved over to third on a
Sheridon Sprague single. Taylor scored on a double steal to give the Saints a 3-0 lead.
After the Prairie Stars pushed across a run in the top of the fourth inning, the Saints broke the game wide open in the fifth inning as
Bri Livingston doubled to left and scored on a
Sydney Halleen ground rule double to extend the lead to 4-1. After an
Emily Frankenreiter walk, Ferguson hit a three run bomb over the left field wall to give the Saints a 7-1 advantage. UIS added two runs of their own in the top of the sixth inning, but Taylor drilled her fourth home run of the year in the bottom of the inning to extend the Saints lead to 8-3.
Taylor earned the win to improve to 7-5 on the year while striking out six UIS batters. The Saints were paced at the plate by Ferguson, who went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI's and two runs scored while Taylor and
Ashley Marks each added a pair of hits as the Saints scattered 12 hits in the contest.
The Prairie Stars opened the scoring in the nightcap by plating a run in the top of the first to take an early 1-0 lead. Maryville answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the second as Taylor opened the frame with a single. Frankenreiter entered the game to pinch run for Taylor and scored on a
Samantha Hausl single to tie the game at 1-1.
Maryville scored a pair of runs in the home half of the fourth as Ferguson came through again with a single to right field to score a pair of Saints as it gave Maryville a 3-1 lead. The Saints added a run in the fourth on a Livingston RBI single to extend the advantage to 4-1 and then the Saints added three insurance runs in the sixth to secure the sweep and improve to 13-11 on the year and 3-1 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
Sprague went the distance to garner her second win of the year while scattering four hits and four strikeouts. Ferguson again led the way at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs batted in while Livingston added two hits and drove in a pair of runs in the win.
The Saints take to the road on Saturday, March 25, when they head to Kenosha, Wis. to take on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in a twin-bill stated to begin at noon.
