EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Missouri S&T's softball team held a lead over the defending NCAA Division II champions with four outs to go in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, but Southern Indiana scored twice in the bottom of the sixth and went on to a 3-2 win to complete a sweep of the twinbill. USI took an 8-0 decision in game one.
S&T entered the bottom of the sixth of game two holding a 2-1 lead, but a two-run single by Jennifer Leonhardt put the Screaming Eagles in the lead and the Miners went down in order in the seventh as they fell to 13-27 overall and 7-11 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with eight home games remaining on the schedule.
The Miners took the initial lead in the game in the second, as
Lauren King (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt North) singled with one out and moved along to third on a double by
Jacey Allen (Roanoke, TX/Byron Nelson). With two outs,
Marcy McCalla (Staunton, IL/Staunton) singled home both runners to give S&T a 2-0 lead.
S&T starter
Avery English (Carterville, IL/Carterville) was able to pitch out of trouble in the early innings, as the Screaming Eagles (30-14, 16-4 GLVC) stranded eight runners in the first four innings. USI got on the board in the fourth on
Claire Johnson's RBI double, but English struck out Leonhardt to keep the Miners in the lead.
English set USI down in order in the fifth, but in the sixth, she allowed back-to-back hits with one out and a walk with two outs to precede the hit by Leonhardt through the right side of the infield that scored the tying and go-ahead runs.
Hannah Franceschini (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield Central) had two of S&T's eight hits in game two as each team finished with eight.
The Miners were held to four hits in game one, as USI scored a run in the first off S&T starter
Olivia Walter (Catawissa, MO/Cor Jesu Academy), then added three in the third and ended the contest due to the run rule with a four-run fifth. S&T committed four errors in game one, leading to four unearned runs for USI.
Missouri S&T opens an eight-game homestand to close the regular season Friday when it hosts Truman State in a noon doubleheader at the S&T Softball Field.
