Pride finish weekend with sweep of Stars
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Pushing themselves two games above .500 for the season, the Clarke University softball team (5-3) finished off their four-game weekend against the Stephens College Stars with 5-0 and 3-1 victories Sunday afternoon.
It was a successful day on the mound for the Pride as Malarie Huseman (4-0) pitched all seven innings allowing no runs with eight strikeouts in game one. Calli Beck (1-2) earned her first win on the season going 6.2 innings surrendering only one run with a couple strikeouts in game two.
In game one, Clarke was able to score in the first after Ankeny, Iowa native Lily King leadoff with a single, stole second, and was eventually brought around on a Kaylie Holtam RBI single. The Pride would score twice more in the second inning and the fourth as Holtam (2) and Elizabeth Leverton (3) would be responsible for bringing around all five runs.
Centerfielder King would finish the game with two hits, three runs scored, and tallied another stolen base in the second inning.
Scoring first again in game two, the Pride once again saw King set the table for the middle of the order as Huseman would single home King and Kennedi LeDuff brought around Huseman for the second run of the inning.
The Stars would get on the board for the first time today in their half of the fourth inning after Mariah Thibodeaux would reach second base on a throwing error. Aubrei Roland would later single home Thibodeaux to cut the Pride lead in half, but the Stars would strand three runners on.
After a pair of singles in the seventh inning, CU would get an insurance run thanks to catcher Abby Archer driving home Mya Durr in one of her two hits in the second tilt.
Looking to mount a two-run comeback, Stephens College would begin the seventh with a leadoff single, but would eventually leave runners stranded on second and third as Huseman came in to get the final out and put SC away.
Pride softball will travel to Melbourne, Fla. next week to play four different opponents starting with Concordia University (Mich.) next Sunday, March 12th with first pitch at 10:30 am CST.