Pride fall in pair of pitchers' duels at Baker

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. - In their first day of Heart of America Athletic Conference play, the Clarke University softball team dropped a pair of low scoring games on Saturday afternoon at Baker University by 1-0 and 5-1 finals.

The 1-0 opener was a true pitchers' duel between Kira Baker of the Wildcats and CU's Meredith Gatto as the pair of hurlers combined to allow just four hits and three walks as the run Gatto gave up came in unearned fashion in the bottom of the sixth inning on a sacrifice bunt play that recorded the out at first but had a following throw go wild.

The only hit Baker allowed came from the very first batter of the game when Kaylie Holtam singled to left as the BU starting pitcher would go on to toss seven shutout innings while striking out 15 Pride hitters with two walks while Gatto's six innings of work saw the sophomore from Dubuque strike out six Wildcat hitters with three hits and one walk allowed.

BU would hold a 1-0 lead after the bottom of the first in game two after another unearned run on a bunt play but game two starter Payge Pyszka would settle in nicely over the next four innings for Clarke to tie the game at 1-1 on a Kora Eng fielder's choice RBI in the top of the sixth.

Baker would produce a bases loaded opportunity for third baseman Braxton Stainbrook as she would hit a grand slam to break the 1-1 tie where Wildcat game two pitcher Brooke Vicory would produce a three-up, three-down seventh to close out the doubleheader sweep.

Pyszka finished her six-inning outing allowing five runs, four earned, on nine hits with one walk and three strikeouts where Vicory allowed just four CU hits, three from Holtam in the leadoff spot, with a walk and three stirkeouts.

Clarke softball will continue their road trip with a Sunday doubleheader at Benedictine College where the Pride and Ravens will begin their action in Atchison, Kan. with a game one first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CT.