ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis softball team split its home opening doubleheader against Davenport on Thursday at the UMSL Softball Field. The Tritons won the nightcap 1-0 after dropping the opener 5-4.
Game 2 – UMSL 1 Davenport 0
The nightcap was a pitcher's duel between UMSL's (5-7)
Ashley Borowitz and Davenport's (4-10) Emma Miller as both pitchers allowed two hits apiece heading into the bottom of the seventh.
The Tritons game-winning rally in the seventh started with a lead-off walk to
Anna VanGundy.
Maddie Snemis sacrificed VanGundy to second for the first out of the frame.
Irene Travis lined a 2-1 offering into left to put runners on the corner for
McKenzie Lamos. Lamos worked the count full then lined the 3-2 pitch into the gap in right center to drive in VanGundy with the winning run.
UMSL's lead-off hitter reached base in five of the seven innings but Miller kept the Triton hitters off balance as she struck out six in the contest.
Borowitz was a little bit better as she struck out a career-high eight batters against one walk to pick up the complete game victory, her first collegiate victory, and evened her record at 1-1. Gabby Palazzolo was the only Panther to get a hit off a Borowitz as she singled twice.
Lamos had two hits in the contest while Travis and
Riley Schultz had one apiece.
Game 1 – Davenport 5 UMSL 4
UMSL jumped out to an early lead with a run in the first inning of the opening game. Travis led off the game with a single off the glove of Palazzolo who tried to make a diving stop in the hole. Travis came around to score on Lamos' RBI double to the gap in right center.
Davenport registered four straight hits with one out in the third and plated two runs on Hayley Krieger's single through the right side of the infield. The Panthers had a chance for more but left the bases loaded.
The Tritons countered with three runs in their half of the third on
Corinne Daley's three-run homer to left scoring
Courtney Settles and
Megan Brown.
UMSL had a chance to add on in the fourth as Travis tripled down the right field line with one out but a strikeout and a fly out to left ended the inning.
The Panthers regained the lead in the sixth scoring three runs on three hits and a pair of Triton throwing errors. Lindsay Goodman led off the inning with a walk. With one out, Becca Daoust reached on a throwing error by Lamos which allowed Alexis Cardona, running for Goodman, to advance to third. Daoust stole second as Schultz's throw was offline allowing Cardona to score. Elisse Omey singled off the glove of Lamos at third to put runners at the corner.
Monica Meger, pinch hitting for Aaliyah Walker, singled down the left field line to drive in Daoust with the tying run. Palazzolo drove in the go-ahead run with a single to left center.
The Tritons had an opportunity to tie the game in the sixth. Schultz led off the inning with a single to left and went to second on an error by Brooke Bernt. Snemis sacrificed Schultz to third with one out but was left stranded as a fly out to shallow left and a pop up to short ended the inning.
UMSL was outhit in the contest 8-6 and was led by Travis with two hits. Lamos, Daley, Schultz and
Annie Scaramuzzi had one hit apiece.
Scaramuzzi got the start in the circle allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks in three innings pitched. Brown pitched the final four innings allowing three runs, one earned, on three hits with four punch outs and took the loss to fall to 0-4 on the season.
The Tritons are back in action on Tuesday, March 7, as they take on Walsh at 10:30 a.m. (CST) at The Spring Games at the Sleepy Hollow Softball Complex in Leesburg, Fla.
