JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln softball team dropped a pair of non-conference home games to Truman State on Wednesday afternoon (April 17). The Bulldogs took the first game, 8-4, and rallied to win the second, 5-3.
A three-run homer in the third inning of the opener allowed the Bulldogs to take an early 3-0 lead, but the Blue Tigers closed the gap down to one in the bottom of the fourth. A walk and singles by
Gabby Newman and
Mackenzie Graham allowed LU to load the bases. A hit by
Lindsey Brandt deep into center field allowed
Brooklyn Smith and Newman to score, making it a 3-2 ballgame.
An RBI ground out pushed the TSU lead back up to two, and the Bulldogs later scored four runs on four hits in the sixth to take an 8-2 advantage. LU attempted to mount a rally in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases once again after
Torri Hinnah hit a single and Brandt and
Abbi Conrad were hit by consecutive pitches. An infield single by
Leslie Callahan drove in Hinnah and a fielder's choice by
Maris Ollison plated Brandt to close the scoring.
Vanessa Cardenas led Lincoln (12-30) with seven putouts, Ollison tallied four assists and Newman turned three assists.
Paige Rademann struck out two Truman State (19-23) batters while
Mallorey Rogers fanned one. Conrad finished with two hits.
In Wednesday's second game, Lincoln struck first with three runs in the bottom of the first. Hinnah was issued a walk and Callahan and Newman both singled to load the bases. Back-to-back base hits by Graham and
Kierra O'Rourke brought in all three for an early LU lead.
The lead held until the top of the third, when four hits by Truman State led to the score being tied at three. The tie remained until the fifth, when a two-run double hit by the Bulldogs scored the game-winning runs.
Brandt also had a hit in game two and
Kasey Kilburn struck out a Bulldog as LU's closer. Hinnah led the Lincoln defense with eight putouts and Conrad recorded six assists.
Lincoln will head to Rolla, Mo. on Friday (April 19) to play a double-header against Missouri S&T at 12:00 p.m. CDT.
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