Pride drop a pair of tightly contested games against No. 22 Benedictine

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Getting back on their home field for just the second time this season, the Clarke University softball team hung with No. 22 Benedictine College in both ends of their Friday doubleheader but fell in both ends 6-0 and 4-3.

The 6-0 game one finished in 10 innings as it was a pitchers' duel between the Pride's Malarie Huseman and the Ravens' Bailey Selvage who matched each other inning for inning until the 10th inning when BC put up a six-spot on four hits.

Both pitchers went the complete 10 innings in the circle as Selvage struck out 12 hitters on her way to the shutout victory, her 14th of the season, allowing just three hits and walking five while Huseman had only allowed four hits prior to the 10th but finished allowing eight hits and also walking five while striking out five on the day.

The finale of the day was highlighted by CU answering Benedictine taking leads, first 1-0 in the first that was answered by a Kaylie Holtam sacrifice fly then after the Ravens scored two in the third, Clarke would convert outs into runs as a fly out to right and a ground out would tie the game again.

A 3-3 game would remain that way into the sixth inning where a leadoff single would give Benedictine a runner on first before a bunt attempt would be caught by pitcher Meredith Gatto as she looked to double the runner off of first, but a conference between coaches and umpires came away with an obstruction call, keeping the runner on first and only giving CU one out.

That runner would eventually come around to score the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run on a Rhiannon Martin RBI single as the Ravens would go on to shut the Pride offense down in the sixth and seventh despite the tying run reaching base in both innings.

Gatto would also have a strong performance in the circle, going the complete seven innings to allow those four runs, three earned, on eight hits and just one walk with four strikeouts.

Elizabeth Leverton finished the finale with a pair of hits as the DP as freshman Kendall Kasput also had a pair of hits in three trips as the rest of the lineup would only be able to produce three more hits total against a trio of BC pitchers that included Selvage returning to get the final out of the day for a save to go along with her 14th win earlier in the day.

Pride softball will return to Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday when they host Baker University for a doubleheader to begin at 1:00 p.m. CT.