QUINCY, Ill. – The Quincy University softball team swept a pair of desperately needed games against the Cardinals of William Jewell College on Senior Day at the Mart Heinen Softball Complex. Right in the thick of the playoff race with just six games remaining in the regular season, the Hawks collected two crucial victories. The first, a 5-4 come from behind contest, the second, a 2-0 shutout.
Game One
Jayle Jennings retired the side in order to open the top of the first inning. Two groundouts and a liner to center ended an efficient top half of inning number one. After a scoreless frame from Quincy's offense, Jennings laid down the side again. This time using a couple ground balls to the left side and a swinging strikeout to dispatch the Cardinals.
QU was the first to break into the hit column in the bottom of the second. Not satisfied with just firing outs on the mound, Jennings smacked a one out single through the left side of the infield to put the first runner of the game on base. WJC collected the next two outs to repel the threat.
Jennings worked around a single with two Ks and a grounder to second to turn in another scoreless frame. Another unsuccessful attempt to score from the Hawks in the bottom of the third brought the Cardinals to the plate for the fourth.
A leadoff error and a mishap came back to bite Quincy in the fourth. After a strikeout, the runner on first swiped second base. A lineout to short followed by a full count walk put runners on first and second with two down. Next, a dropped-third-strike that should have ended the inning instead advanced all runners, loading the bases. The miscue from the Hawks proved to be a costly one, as the next hitter drove in two runs on a single up the middle to make it 2-0.
Quincy got one back in the bottom half of the fourth. A leadoff walk from Myka Hurley, along with a stolen base, put a runner on second with no outs. A
Taylor Downen drive to right center prompted an error of the center fielder, plating Hurley from second and cutting the deficit in half at 2-1.
WJC led of the fifth with a single up the middle to put a runner on with nobody out. A fielder's choice and a groundball to first put a runner on second with two outs. Back-to-back doubles to left drove in two and pressed the lead to 4-1 through the top of the fifth.
Two outs into the Hawk half of the fifth,
Allison Kaiser singled down the left field line.
Ashley Gerber visited the left field line as well in the next at bat, doubling in Kaiser from first to pull within two at 4-2.
Jennings quieted the Cardinals lineup in the top of the sixth. Three groundouts, all to short, one for a fielder's choice, closed out the Jewell sixth inning.
The Hawks lineup came alive in the bottom of the sixth. The first five hitters reached base safely in the frame. Downen laced a double to right center to lead off the inning.
Bailey Mitchell ripped one down the left field line for another double, driving in Downen to make it 4-3. A walk from Jennings to put runners at first and second prompted a pitching change. In the next at bat,
Casey Brennan chopped one back to the pitcher and legged it out to first, loading the bases. A full count walk from
Courtney Mills tied the game at 4-4. Pinch hitter Alyson Maynard lifted a sac fly to deep center to end the scoring and give QU a 5-4 lead heading into the final inning.
After collecting the first two out of the seventh, Jennings surrendered a single, prompting a pitching change.
Brooklynn Fischer came in and collected the final out to preserve the comeback victory in game one, 5-4.
Stats Leaders:
Taylor Downen: 1-3, 1 Run, RBI
Bailey Mitchell: 1-3, 1 Run, RBI
Jayle Jennings: 6.2 IP, Win, 4 Ks, 1 Walk / 1-2, 1 Run, Walk
Ashley Gerber: 1-4, RBI
Game Two
Freshman lefthander
Brooklynn Fischer led off the top of the first striking out the first hitter she faced. The next batter reached on a full count walk, followed by a lineout to first and a wild pitch, moving the runner into scoring position with two down. A groundout to Fischer subdued the threat.
Ashley Gerber got the Hawks going in the first with a leadoff double to left center. A sac bunt from Myka Hurley in the two-hole advanced Gerber to third. Downen drove in Gerber in the next at bat with a sac fly to score the game's first run and make it 1-0.
Jewell reached base with a single from their first batter in the second. After a sac bunt advanced the runner, Fischer racked up another strikeout for the second out. A walk put two runners on, before another strikeout from Fischer ended the inning.
A double to left from
Maddy Findley highlighted a quiet second inning for Quincy, bringing WJC back to the plate for the third.
Another scoreless inning from Fischer, featuring two more of her eight strikeouts in the game, brought the Hawks to the dish for their third turn to bat.
Hurley reached on a walk and advanced to second on a stolen base to put a runner in scoring position with one down. A grounder to the right side from Downen moved Hurley further to third at the price of recording the second out. Mitchell came through with an RBI single to right field to drive in the run and press the lead to 2-0 after three.
Neither side plated a run for the remainder of the contest. The Hawks pitching continued to hold WJC at bay for the final four innings of play. Two more clean innings of work in the fourth and fifth from Fischer, along with three more strikeouts, brought on
Eileen McGinnis to relieve in the sixth inning.
The Cardinals worked a walk to leadoff the sixth. McGinnis got a pop up to second and a flyout to right to collect two outs. A single through the right side put a runner in scoring position, but McGinnis struck-out the final hitter to close the frame. Two strikeouts, one looking and one swinging, along with a grounder to third ended a 1-2-3 seventh for McGinnis, and a 2-0 win for Quincy.
The Hawks are back in action again tomorrow, Sunday (Apr. 23) for another GLVC doubleheader, this time against the Bulldogs of Truman State University. First pitch for game one is slated for 12:00 p.m.
With the sweep, QU moves to 9-9 on the season for the conference schedule. Good for a three-way tie for eighth in the standings with Drury University and Missouri S&T for the final spot in the GLVC conference tournament. The Hawks split with the Panthers and swept the Miners in their regular season meetings.
The remaining six games on the conference and regular season schedule for QU are against Truman State, Southwest Baptist, and Rockhurst.
Stats Leaders:
Bailey Mitchell: 2-2, RBI, Walk
Maddy Findley: 3-3, 2 2Bs
Taylor Downen: 1-2, RBI
Brooklynn Fischer: 5 IP, Win, 0 R, 2 Hits, 8 Ks, 2 Walks
Eileen McGinnis: 2 IP, Save, 0 R, 1 Hit, 3 Ks
