TUCSON, Ariz. ---
Jordan Closs earned her first collegiate victory in the circle and
Bridget McDermott drove in four runs on the day enabling the University of St. Francis softball team to claim a split decision for the second straight day at the Tucson Invitational Games on Monday. The Fighting Saints opened with a 6-1 win over previously-unbeaten Northwestern College (Iowa) before dropping a 4-1 decision to NAIA No. 6-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University.
Closs went the distance in her first collegiate start against a Northwestern team that had come into the contest a perfect 16-0 to start the season.
McDermott and
Danielle Callahan both drove home multiple runs in the opener and joined
Gracyn Gabriel and
Maddie Massaro in providing at least one hit in each contest.
Game 1: USF 6, Northwestern 1
The Saints (6-2) scored five of their six runs after two outs, including all four in the fourth inning to open up a 6-0 lead. USF went right to work in putting two runs on the board in the top half of the first inning.
McDermott drove in runs in each of the two innings in which St. Francis scored. She brought home the first run of the contest on a sacrifice fly before supplying another two with a triple in the fourth inning. Callahan (2-for-4) also had a two-run single in the latter frame.
Kaylie Sippel accounted for the other run on her single in the first inning. It was one of two hits in the contest for her.
Closs (1-0) never became flustered in her initial start getting out of big jams in both the fifth and sixth innings. Northwestern had runners at second and third base with only one out in the fifth, but Closs was able to get a popup followed by a lineout to end that threat.
One inning later, the Raiders had the bases loaded with only one out with one run already in. Closs was able to get a force out at home and a flyout to quash that rally. She finished the contest scattering six hits, walking two batters and recording one strikeout.
Game 2: Indiana Wesleyan 4, USF 1
USF had its chances to pull off the upset of Indiana Wesleyan, but left five runners in scoring position and nine runners on base total.
The Wildcats (7-1) put up two runs in both the third and fifth innings. USF's only run came in the third when McDermott knocked home
Brittany Osborne (walk) with a single.
The Saints had their runners in scoring position in the second, fifth and seventh innings.
Callahan accounted for two of the team's six hits in the game.
Notes: Closs had only pitched in two contests covering one inning each prior to Monday … Callahan took over sole ownership of the team lead in multi-hit contests with a pair on Monday for her fourth and fifth such games already this season … Massaro boasts the longest hitting streak by a Saint this year (six games) with her hits in each end of the doubleheader … Gabriel and McDermott kept their season-long reaching-base streaks intact with both players extending them to eight games … Two more games are on tap for Tuesday with the Saints meeting Dakota Wesleyan University (SD) at 10 am and Ottawa University (Ariz.) at 2:30 pm.
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