ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Webster University softball team kicked off SLIAC play this afternoon with a doubleheader against Eureka (Ill.) College. The Gorloks swept the doubleheader as they won the first game by a final score of 9-8 (8 inn.) and the second game by a final score of 8-2 to improve to 15-7-1 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. With the sweep, Eureka drops to 8-9 on the year and 0-2 in the SLIAC.
The Gorloks got off to a great start in their first game of the day as they scored a run in the bottom of the first and a run in the bottom of the second to take a 2-0 lead.
Sidney Holtz would extend the lead to 4-0 with a two-run single in the bottom of the third, and then another run from the Gorloks in the bottom of the fourth would put Webster up 5-0 in the contest. The Red Devils would battle back and score six runs late in the game, but two runs from Webster in the bottom of the sixth would give the Gorloks a late advantage. The Red Devils would tie it in the top of the seventh to send the game to extras and then took the lead with a run in the top of the eighth. The Gorloks would answer with two runs in the bottom of the frame and solidified their sixth straight win.
Reese Waggoner was the starting pitcher in this one as she allowed 12 hits and six earned runs while striking out seven in 6.0 innings.
Ainsley Hinz (3-2) picked up the win as she allowed two hits and one earned run while striking out one in the final 2.0 innings of the game.
Webster rallied for 12 hits in the contest.
Katie Croxall,
Lucy St. John, and
Jaelin Holdaway all recorded multi-hit games as Croxall went 2-for-3 with an RBI, St. John went 3-for-4 with an RBI, and
Jaelin Holdaway went 2-for-4 with two RBI. In addition,
Sidney Holtz went 1-for-4 with two RBI,
Kaelyn Kearney went 1-for-5 with an RBI, and Page Thomas went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Webster would get off to another great start in the second game of the day as
Paige Thomas would launch her fourth homerun of the season in the bottom of the first to give the Gorloks a 2-0 lead. The Red Devils would cut the lead in half in the top of the third, but four runs in the bottom half of the inning would put Webster up 6-1 in the contest.
Emma Bovaconti would extend the Gorloks lead to 8-1 in the bottom of the fourth with her third homerun of the season and Webster would allow just one more run to the Red Devils down the stretch to solidify the win.
Braidyn Burr (3-2) allowed seven hits and one earned run in her second complete game of the season.
Webster tallied 10 hits in their second game.
Paige Thomas and
Emma Bovaconti led the way as Thomas went 3-for-3 with three RBI while Bovaconti went 2-for-3 with three RBI. In addition,
Jaelin Holdaway went 1-for-3 with an RBI while
Sidney Holtz went 1-for-1 with an RBI.
The Gorloks will return to the diamond on Sunday, April 7
th when they host the Lyon (Ark.) College Scots for a SLIAC doubleheader. The first game is set to start at 1 p.m. with the second to follow at St. Joseph's Academy.
