BRANSON, Mo. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis softball team dropped both of its games on Friday at the Division II Battle at the Branson Rec Plex in Branson, Mo. The Tritons dropped their first game of the day to Northwest Missouri 5-0 and their second to Nebraska-Kearney 4-2.
Game 1 – NWMSU 5 UMSL 0
The Bearcats (8-4) scored in four of the first innings on Friday morning. Kaylee Cords drove in the game's first run with a sinking liner off the glove of a diving
May Pasqualini. NWMSU's second run scored on bases loaded walk to Mackenzie Minarik with two out in the second.
Cords drove in her second run of the contest in the fourth with an RBI double to left scoring Omara Love. The Bearcats' final two runs came in the fifth as Timber Wilson brought home Jaeleigh Darnell with a double to right center and Minarik drove in Wilson with a single to left.
UMSL (4-5) was held to four hits in the contest and was led by
Kiley Sullivan with two of those while
Gracie Philpot and
Kaytie Kossina had one each.
Kenzie Stoltz took the loss in the contest giving up two runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts to fall to 1-2 on the season.
Game 2 – UNK 4 UMSL 2
The Lopers (6-7) jumped on top with a run in their half of the first on an RBI single from Gianna Galli that scored Alyssa Fortik. UNK added two more in the third on a two-run double to right center from Galli scoring Mary Chvatal and Fortik.
The Tritons got one of those runs back in the home half of the third on an RBI single from
Rylie Buchanan that scored Sullivan.
The Lopers scored again in the fifth as Zaria Brigham doubled off the glove of
Keira Hayton scoring Avery Rios. UMSL got that run back in its half of the fifth on Kossina's two-out single to center that scored Pasqualini.
The Tritons had the tying runs on base with no out in the sixth but
Phoebe Miller lined out short for the first out. Fortik tried to throw behind
Jamie Widule at second but her throw went into right field allowing Widule to get to third. Hayton tried to advance to second on the throw but was thrown out at second for the second out.
Madison Rozanski grounded out to short to end the inning.
UMSL had nine hits in the second game and was led by Pasqualini with three while Kossina and Hayton had two each.
Ashley Borowitz took the loss allowing three runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts in 2.1 innings pitched to fall to 2-2 on the season.
The Tritons return to the diamond next Friday as they travel to Joplin, Mo., for a doubleheader against Missouri Southern starting at 3 p.m. at the Pat Lipira Softball Complex.
