Final at-bats determine doubleheader split between Pride and UHSP

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Jumping back to a non-conference doubleheader matchup after their first Heart of America Athletic Conference weekend, the Clarke University softball team split their Wednesday afternoon doubleheader against University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy with a 2-0 win and a 7-6 loss on the road.

Both games were won on the team's final at-bats of the game with the Pride taking home the 2-0 win in extra innings while UHSP earned a walk off win in the bottom of the seventh in game two with CU leading 6-4 entering the bottom of the seventh.

The Pride were able to out-hit the Eutectics 11-2 in game one but the game went scoreless through seven innings as Clarke's Meredith Gatto and UHSP's Emma Henley were able to keep the zeros going up on the scoreboard until a Hannah Palzkill single made it first and third in the eighth with a double steal attempt resulting in a Reece Fleming run on a UHSP error.

Now with Palzkill at second, Oakleigh Harman knocked her third hit of the game to score the second run for CU, which was all Gatto needed to close out her fourth win of the season and first shutout allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out nine.

Along with Harman and Palzkill, Harlee Makue-Vasconcellos and Lauren Hefel had multi-hit games with both Kennedi LeDuff and Olivia Sikora both producing hits in the middle of Clarke's lineup.

Game two was back-and-forth in nature after the Pride jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first after a Hefel double, a run scoring ground out, then an RBI single from Palzkill but the Eutectics answered with two in the bottom of the first and two more in the third to take a 4-3 lead.

Clarke would metaphorically build a fence on the scoreboard in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings with a single run in each top half with the first two runs coming via errors by UHSP then Palzkill once again driving in a run, this time with a double in the seventh to make it 6-4.

UHSP started the bottom of the seventh with four-straight hits, including an RBI double to make it a one-run game then a game-tying RBI single from Alicia Kimble to force a CU pitching change but three batters later, Reese Smith would produce the game-winning RBI single for the split.

Pride softball will get on their home field for the first time in the 2025 season this Friday when they host Missouri Valley College at Veterans Memorial Park on Mar. 28 for a scheduled 1:00 p.m. CT first pitch of the Heart doubleheader between CU and the Vikings.