ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- A three-run home run by Missouri Baptist University in the bottom of the first inning set the tone for the afternoon for the University of St. Francis softball team, which resulted in 11-0 and 4-0 setbacks to the Spartans on Friday. With the losses, the Saints drop to 5-12 on the year.
Slugging and dominant pitching were the stories of the day for Missouri Baptist (17-3) with the Spartans authoring three extra-base hits in addition to the three-run blast in Game 1 before registering a triple and another multi-run home run in the nightcap. MBU's pitching staff also held the Saints to just five total hits between the two games, while walking none.
Of the five St. Francis base hits,
Emily Hurst collected two with
Emily Boyle,
Rose Mwaro and
Kylie Cook registering one apiece.
Game 1: Missouri Baptist 11, USF 0 (5 innings)
Following the three-run blast in the first inning, MBU went on to score a pair of runs in the third before a five-run fourth inning accounted for the rest of the hosts' scoring.
Seven walks and three defensive errors by USF contributed to the Spartan scoring attack, the latter of which resulted in five unearned runs in the contest. MBU recorded just six hits in the game, but four of those went for the extra bases.
Hurst connected for two of the Saints' three hits with Boyle's double in the third inning standing as the final hit for USF.
Game 2: Missouri Baptist 4, USF 0
After scoring in the first inning to open an early 1-0 lead, the Spartans would tack on three insurance runs in the fifth frame fueled by three hits and two free passes .
Mwaro and Cook were the only Saints to register a hit off MBU's Taylor Whitehead, who went the distance to improve to 7-0. She struck out six against two hits in the contest.
Mwaro's hit came with one out in the second inning and was one of only two frames in which the Saints put at least one runner on base. The other chance at scoring – the third inning – ended on a popup after Cook started the frame with a single, but was left stranded on third base.
MBU's offense was led by Brooklyn Fischer, who authored two hits. Miranda Ladson also knocked in a pair of runs with a home run over the left field fence.
Up Next
The Saints will be on the road again on Wednesday (March 19) when they travel to Rosemont, Ill. to take on NCAA II Roosevelt University in a non-conference doubleheader. The first game is slated to start at 3 pm.
You can keep up with all things USF on X @USFSaints.
