Gatto's school record performance highlights 2025 opener for Pride softball

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Getting their 2025 season under way in the Ambrose Dome for a pair of neutral field matchups, the Clarke Unviersity softball team was unable to pull out wins in two close games first in a 3-2 extra innings lose to Viterbo University then a 6-3 loss to Cornerstone University to wrap up the day.

The opener was highlighted by a stellar individual performance in the cirlce for the Pride as sophomore right-hander Meredith Gatto recorded 14 strikeouts in 7.2 innings against Viterbo to set a new school record for strikeouts in a game. 

Gatto, a Dubuque native, tied previous record holder and Clarke Athletics Hall of Famer Jill Slater before getting into extra innings as the record-breaking strikeout came in the eighth inning as Gatto would be attempting to prolong the game to a ninth inning. Coming off a solid freshman campaign, Gatto came into the season as CU's ace in the circle where she would open the season not only shattering her previous career-high in strikeouts but setting the new single game mark.

Gatto's full line finished at those 7.2 innings and 14 strikeouts while also allowing six hits and two walks with two of the three runs she allowed being earned as she went through the first time through the order nine-up, nine-down with seven of her 14 strikeouts in the first three innings.

In that decisive eighth inning, the Pride would take the lead on a Kynadee Harris RBI double down the line to lead off the inning in the international rule as Lauren Hefel would start the inning on second base but Clarke couldn't capitalize to add more insurance runs and head into the bottom of the inning only up 2-1.

The V-Hawks would tie the game with one out then eventually walk it off with two outs on a single by Megan Jardine to win the game 3-2, spoiling the record-breaking performance from Gatto.

Harris was the offensive star of the game for Clarke as she finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, including that RBI double in the eighth, as the junior first baseman looked to pick up where she left off her 2024 season when she closed last year on a four-game hitting streak and recorded at least a hit in 12 of her final 17 games of the year.

Kaylie Holtam also added a mutli-hit game in the opener, going 2-for-4 while Kendall Kasput and Kennedi LeDuff also added hits for the Pride but the team couldn't capitalize on all of their run scoring opportunities, leaving 11 runners on base in the game.

The second game against Cornerstone was a bit of a back-and-forth affair with both teams scoring a pair of runs in the second as Hefel was in the middle of a lot of the action, driving in a RBI with a single then following that up with a double steal to score Kasput to tie the game in the third as freshman from Hempstead High School would later score a run in the bottom of the fifth to give Clarke a 3-2 lead.

The Golden Eagles would tie the game and eventually take the lead in the top of the sixth before adding a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh to pull away but the Pride would get a chance with the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh before a ground out would seal the win for Cornerstone.

Hefel would finish 2-for-4 with a pair of hard hits, including a double, as Mya Durr would also finish with a two-hit game after coming off the bench early in the game with Kasput and LeDuff once again adding a hit apiece.

Payge Pyszka would get the game-two start as she'd pitch into the seventh allowing six runs, five earned, on 10 hits and three walks with three strikeouts with Karlee Transburg striking out two Golden Eagle hitters while getting all three outs in the seventh in relief of Pyszka.

Clarke softball will head back to Davenport for another pair of games on Sunday starting with Viterbo at 3:15 p.m. CT before playing in a true road game against St. Ambrose at 5:30 p.m. CT to close out the four-game weekend.