COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Western Illinois softball team split a double-header with Missouri during the second day of action at the weather-shortened Tiger Invitational.
Four games were originally slated for Saturday at Mizzou's University Field, but a morning snowstorm forced the games inside Devine Pavilion and contests featuring Northwestern and Columbia College were cancelled.
With the cancellations, Mizzou (21-15) and Western Illinois played a double-header. After falling only one short to the Tigers (4-3) in eight innings of the opening game, the Westerwinds (7-14) came back in the nightcap to take a 9-8 victory over the Big 12 Conference team.
“The team adjusted well from playing outside to coming inside,” said Western Illinois head coach
Holly Van Vlymen. “They didn't let the turf or the facility get in the way; they just came to play ball.”
Missouri held a three-run lead over Western Illinois until the final inning of the game, when
Amy Douglas singled home
Britt Mason and
Lindsey Hession tying the game at 3-3 to force extra innings.
In the top of the eighth inning, Mizzou's pitcher Jen Bruck struck out two of the three batters to hold the Westerwinds scoreless. A Tiger sacrifice bunt, in the bottom of the eighth, brought home the final run of the game. In two innings of work, Bruck (7-3) recorded the win, while
Kamren Ferguson suffered the loss, taking her record to 3-2.
In game one,
Amy Douglas was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and
Britt Mason was 2-for-2 with two stolen bases.
“It was a real heartbreaker,” said Van Vlymen. “We came from behind and it was hard to take the loss right at the end. In both games we showed a lot of heart and proved that we will continue to battle hard to the end.”
In the nightcap, Mizzou took an early 3-0 lead as the Westerwinds worked to close the gap, putting one on the board in the third inning. The Tigers took a 7-1 lead over Western in the fifth inning when
Samantha Valentine doubled to score
Jennifer Garcia and Hession to add two more the Westerwinds. Douglas scored off a
Nicole Green single and Valentine scored the final run of the inning on the throw, cutting the Tiger lead to 7-5.
Missouri scored one final run in the seventh when Western Illinois rallied to score four runs on five hits and take the 9-8 victory over the Tigers.
Lori Pankratz (2-2) recorded the win, while Megan Dennis suffered her third loss on the season. Garcia was 2-for-3, Valentine was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a double, Green was 2-for-4 with one RBI and Mason was 2-for-3 with one RBI.
On the day, Mason led the Westerwinds at the plate going 4-for-5 and recording one RBI. Western Illinois recorded 20 hits with 11 RBIs.
“We are looking to finish our spring break road trip on a high note as we face Mizzou for a final time tomorrow,” said Van Vlymen. “We will come back to Macomb ready to show our fans what we're about.”
Western Illinois will return to action for the final game of spring break play against Missouri, Sunday, at 12:15 p.m.
