Feb. 23, 2014
Box Score vs. Canisius
Box Score vs. Bradley
BOWLING GREEN, Ky.—In the final day of the Holiday Inn Hilltopper Spring Classic, the Western Kentucky University softball team (9-4-1) carried the momentum of the weekend to post two more wins, defeating Canisius (2-7) 2-1 and Bradley (5-9) 5-1 on Sunday.
Over the weekend, the WKU pitching staff of Emily Rousseau and Hannah Miniard allowed three runs on 13 hits, leading WKU to a 4-0 tournament record. At the plate, Shawna Sadler and Olivia Watkins tabbed eight hits each while Preslie Cruce followed with six hits and a team-high five RBI. WKU outscored its opponents 22-3 while outhitting them with 38 total.
WKU is back in action this weekend with another home tournament, as the Holiday Inn Hilltopper Classic will take place at Bowling Green's Buchanon Park from Friday, Feb. 28-Sunday, Mar. 2. WKU will welcome Indiana State, IUPUI, Northern Iowa, Green Bay and Wright State. WKU's first game is on Friday at 10:30 a.m. CT against Green Bay.
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GAME ONE—WKU 2, Canisius 1
With Canisius leading 1-0 heading to the bottom seventh, WKU capitalized on two Griffs fielding errors to come back and take the game 2-1.
Senior Rousseau (5-4) knocked out a season-high nine batters at the plate while retiring 13 of the last batters she faced, as the Louisiana native gave up three hits and one earned run in her seven innings of action. Canisius' Jen Consaul (1-3) allowed five WKU hits while walking two. The two runs for the Lady Toppers were unearned.
Seniors took control at the plate, as Watkins and Kelsie Mattox had a pair of hits each in the contest. WKU had multiple chances to score early, leaving a total of seven on base.
Canisius jumped on the scoreboard in the third inning after a double from Alexis Roman brought in Michelle DelPrince who stood on first after a single to open the frame.
Mattox started WKU's half of the seventh inning with a single up the middle before senior Tiffany Gooch took her place at first. After Gooch moved to second on sophomore Bethany Oglesby's sacrifice bunt, Gooch made it home on a fielding error to tie the game at one run each. With Watkins standing on second, freshman Andie Martin sent a ball toward the visitor's shortstop who was unable to field it, allowing Watkins' speed to beat the throw to the plate.
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GAME TWO—WKU 5, Bradley 1
Freshman Miniard continued to have a strong weekend, throwing her second one-hit complete game in a 5-1 win over Bradley.
Miniard (4-0) struck out a season-high 11 batters while walking four. The Danville, Ky., native allowed just one run in the second inning after a RBI double scored Alyson Clemente who was standing at first base. Bradley's Jaelen Hull (2-5) took the loss after going 5.2 innings with eight hits, all five runs and four walks dished out while striking out five.
The offense found production at the plate, putting up nine hits on the Braves. Cruce, Sadler and Watkins tabbed two hits each while scoring a run apiece. Senior Amanda Thomas notched two RBI. A
fter Bradley's lone run in the second, WKU immediately responded by tying the score in the bottom half of the frame with a Sadler run from Oglesby's at-bat. The Lady Toppers took over the lead in the next inning after speedy Watkins moved from first to third on Martin's sacrifice bunt before scoring on Thomas' sacrifice fly.
A pair of runs in the fourth made it 4-1 after Mattox opened the inning with an inside-the-park home run carried by the strong winds to the fence corner in right field. Freshman Amber Williams then came in as a pinch runner for Cruce after her single to left to score on another Thomas at-bat. WKU closed out the game with a single run in the sixth off of Cruce's first home run of the season.
For more information on WKU softball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the team on Twitter via @WKUSoftball.
