Liberty, Mo. – The Maryville softball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader against William Jewell College Saturday afternoon at Spratt Sports Complex in Liberty, Mo. The saints fell in the first game, 2-0 and a seventh inning rally fell short as they lost the nightcap, 5-4.
The Maryville offense was only able to put together a pair of hits over the first four innings of the game as the Cardinals grabbed a 2-0 lead with single runs in the third and fourth innings. Maryville had a chance to score in the fifth inning as
Casey Ward singled to center field with one out and moved to second on a
Kelsey Martin single, but WJC was able to force Martin out at second to end the inning. The Cardinals were then able to hold Maryville in check over the next two innings to give WJC the win.
Nikki Taylor fell to 8-7 on the year by throwing a complete game and giving up two runs on three hits while striking out four Cardinal batters. Ward led the way for Maryville at the plate with a pair of hits with Martin,
Sheridon Sprague, and
Jaclyn Pasakarnis each adding a hit as the Saints scattered only five hits in the contest.
The Cardinals again grabbed an early lead in the night cap with a run in the second inning, but the Saints battled back to take the lead in the fourth with a pair of runs. Martin opened the frame with an infield single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Taylor then drew a free pass to put runners on first and second and Martin came across to score on a
Samantha Hausl single up the middle to tie the contest at 1-1. After a fly out, Pasakarnis drew another walk to load the bases and Taylor scored as
Sydney Halleen walked to give Maryville a 2-1 advantage. WJC broke the game open in the home half of the fifth with a four run outburst to take a 5-2 lead, but the Saints mounted a come-back in the top of the seventh. Martin came through with a bunt single with one out to start the Maryville rally. Sprague then singled down the right field line to put runners at first and second. Hausl pushed a single through the right side to load the bases after a fly out and ward came to the plate and delievered a single down the line to score a pair of saints and cut the lead to 5-4. That is as close as Maryville could get as WJC forced a foul out to end the uprising.
Alyssa Callans suffered the loss in relief as she fell to 4-2 on the year by going two innings and giving up four runs on four hits. Martin and Hausl paced the Saints offense with three hits apiece while Ward chipped in with a pair of hits and two runs battle in.
The Saints (14-18, 4-8 GLVC) return home to Weber Field on Tuesday, April 4, to take on GLVC rival University of Missouri-St. Louis in a doubleheader set to begin at 3 p.m.
