St. Louis – The Maryville softball team earned a split with Drury Thursday afternoon at the Maryville Athletic Complex. In the first game of the day, Alyssa Callans threw a shutout and notched the only RBI of the contest to give the Saints a 1-0 victory. Game two had 23 total hits and two Maryville homeruns, but a late charge by the Saints fell short and the Panthers claimed the nightcap 11-10. 
 
Game One:
The Saints struck early after Melanie Nelson reached base on a fielder's choice in the first inning and then proceeded to steal second. Callans came up swinging and knocked a single to right center field driving in Nelson to give the Saints a 1-0 lead. 
 
That is all the Saints would need as Callans tossed her fourth shutout of the season. The graduate student struck out nine and allowed only two hits to give the Saints their sixth win in a row. The 1-0 win is the first time Drury has been shut out all season.
 
Winning Pitcher: Callans (8-3)
Save: None
Losing Pitcher: Lauren Beier (4-3)
Hitting leaders: Callans – 1-for-3, RBI
                            Nelson – 0-for-3, run scored, SB
 
Game Two: 
Drury saw their scoreless drought end in the first frame after putting up two runs to open the scoring. Maryville responded in the bottom half of the inning when Nelson reached base on a fielding error and was quickly moved to third after a double by Kim DeBold. Callans cut the Saints deficit to 2-1 with a sacrifice fly to right, bringing home Nelson. 
 
The Panthers continued their scoring with three runs in the second inning, four runs in the third inning, and two runs in the fourth inning to make it a 11-1 ballgame. The Saints kept fighting and added two runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth courtesy of an Aleigha Cory single to right field that drove in Kylie Swinney and DJ Aaron-Holman making the score 11-3. 
 
In the fifth inning, Callans launched a two-run blast to chip away at the Panthers lead as it made the score 11-5. Swinney  opened the sixth frame with her first collegiate home run to cut the Drury lead to 11-6. The Saints plated four more runs in the inning, but the comeback fell short as Drury closed out the Saints and took game two 11-10. 
 
Winning Pitcher: Karsyn Smith (6-0)
Save: Haylee VanDeventer (1)
Losing Pitcher: Reagan Smith (3-2)
Hitting leaders: Callans – 3-for-3, HR, 5 RBI, 2 runs scored
                            Swinney – 3-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 runs scored
 
Records:
Maryville – 11-8, 9-5 GLVC
Drury – 19-8, 13-3 GLVC
 
Up Next: Maryville heads to St. Charles, Mo., on Saturday for a two-game set against Lindenwood. The first game of the doubleheader is set to start at noon.